A new article on PatientEngagementHIT.com suggests a uniquely low-tech way providers can improve patient safety using a method called the "teach-back."
Writer Sarah Heath notes that patients don’t always understand the after-care directions given to them by their physicians, so AHRQ developed the teach-back, in which providers ask patients to repeat in their own words—or "teach back"—important information and instructions about their care.
According to AHRQ, “The goal of teach-back is to ensure that you have explained medical information clearly so that patients and their families understand what you communicated to them. This low-cost, low-technology intervention can be the gateway to better communication, better understanding, and ultimately shared decision-making.”
Have you used the teach-back method in your practice?