With so much information available, you need to think carefully about how you present it. What is the target audience? What resources does the target audience have to access the information? Does the target audience understand (medical) scientific language or analytics fully, to some extent, or not at all? Is it best to write a factual summary of the information, turn it into a humorous podcast or draw a graph to illustrate it? Whatever the situation, two rules of thumb often go a long way: 1) summarise the information and 2) make it easy to understand.
On average, healthcare workers use medical jargon more than once every four minutes and explain only about half of the terms to patients.
Medical and health research produces a huge amount of information every year, but few of us have time to read it all. What information is relevant and up-to-date? Which data sources are reliable? What is most acute or relevant point in the flood of information? Prioritising relevant information from the big picture is challenging, but it is essential for ensuring effective decision-making and good practice. What if someone were to search through the mass of information to find the key points that matter and summarise them in a concise, accessible format? What if you could save the time spent in searching and prioritising information, and spend it on the essentials instead?
If you can’t spend long hours reading medical studies, articles or new guidelines, a concise, user-friendly summary allows you to get to the point quickly and efficiently. Visual elements, such as infographics or diagrams, summarise and clarify complex information and large bodies of data. A visual presentation can be a quick and effective way to transfer information from you to your customer.
Once we understand your information needs, we can filter the relevant information from a wide range of sources, summarise it for you in a neat, concise format and present it in a way that best serves you and/or your customers. We can also ensure that your information is regularly updated.
And to sum up the above in one sentence: summarising the essential information lets you use your time more efficiently, so you don’t waste it on irrelevant things!
Complex medical language can startle a layperson, and even make them ignore information and sources that could actually be important to their health.
According to a study1, healthcare workers use medical jargon on average more than once every four minutes and explain only about half of the terms to patients. Research also shows that a large proportion of patients misremember or remember only partly what their doctor says, and that doctors may overestimate their patients’ understanding of medical terms.
Complex medical language can startle lay people, and even make them ignore information and sources that could actually be important to their health. If patients misunderstand things when communicating with healthcare professionals, it can lead to lower adherence to care, poorer patient satisfaction, and ultimately worse outcomes for the patient’s health and care.
Making medical information easily understandable is important because it makes it easier to comprehend complex issues and promotes patients’ engagement in their health. Information presented in an understandable way is more accessible and compelling: when it is presented in a clear and understandable way, it is easier to engage people. A source of information that communicates clearly also feels more trustworthy.
Making information easily understandable helps to involve patients in decision-making. Participation alone is already empowering for patients, but presenting things in an understandable way can also motivate them to follow guidelines and recommendations, and better health literacy pays off many times over: a more health literate person is able to make better decisions about their health.
1 Miller AN et al. Use of seven types of medical jargon by male and female primary care providers at a university health centre. Patient Educ Couns 2022 May;105(5):1261-1267. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2021.08.018. Epub 2021 Aug 27.