From the October 2022 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
According to a report from the Literacy Project released last year, 45 million Americans are functionally illiterate, meaning they cannot read above a 5th grade level. What’s more, a full 50% of adults cannot read and understand a book written above an 8th grade level. Per the Joint Commission, patient education materials – like imaging exam instructions – should be written at a 5th grade reading level. This helps to ensure comprehension and understanding of the information, so patients can use that information to inform their health-related decisions.
Gaining access to imaging information is not the problem. Having access to information patients can “find, understand and use” is the problem. Imaging leaders can help solve this problem – and it’s easier than you think.
There is an index that allows written text to be analyzed to determine the number of years of U.S. based education required to comprehend the information. The SMOG index may have a funny name (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook), but it is a time-tested, scientifically proven way to assess patient scheduling and exam prep instructions for readability. Various free online tools are available to use for readability tests – just be sure that the SMOG index is one of the measures it uses. The CDC, researchers and medical academic communities have relied on the SMOG index for years. You can too!
Simply copy and paste the text from your patient facing information into the tool. Is the SMOG index at a 5th grade level? Or is it much higher? If it’s higher, simply edit the text, and process again until you achieve your goal. The SMOG index measures all facets of the text, from word length to sentence structure to comprehension.
For example, according to one popular patient-facing website:
“Computed tomography (CT) is a diagnostic imaging test used to create detailed images of internal organs, bones, soft tissue, and blood vessels. The cross-sectional images generated during a CT scan can be reformatted in multiple planes and can even generate three-dimensional images which can be viewed on a computer monitor, printed on film, or transferred to electronic media. CT scanning is often the best method for detecting many different cancers since the images allow your doctor to confirm the presence of a tumor and determine its size and location. CT is fast, painless, noninvasive, and accurate. In emergency cases, it can reveal internal injuries and bleeding quickly enough to help save lives.”
We can measure the SMOG index by cutting and pasting this text into a readability tool. Several indices are displayed in most tools, including SMOG. This is the result from one reputable tool:
