Health literacy is one of the most critical, and oftentimes underestimated, determinants of patient outcomes. As healthcare systems grapple with persistent health disparities, medication complexity, and a continued rise in chronic diseases (an estimated 129 million people in the United States have at least one major chronic disease), patients cannot follow what they do not understand. That is especially true when nearly nine out of ten adults in the United States are struggling with health literacy. At the center of this challenge lies patient education.
For healthcare teams, patient education should be viewed as a top priority, not just a matter of compliance, as patients being knowledgeable about their health can improve it. Additionally, for healthcare leaders, pharmacists, and health plans alike, improving health literacy is no longer optional. It is foundational to quality performance, cost containment, and equitable access to care.
The question is not whether patient education matters, but whether our current approaches are sufficient for the realities patients face today.
Why is patient education on medication central to health literacy?
With more than 131 million people (66% of all adults in the U.S.) using prescription drugs, medication use is one of the most frequent and tangible interactions patients have with healthcare. It is during these moments where clinical decisions meet daily life. When patients misunderstand their medications, the consequences can be immediate and measurable, showing up in the form of non-adherence, adverse drug events, avoidable hospitalizations, and poor disease control.
Effective patient medication education not only addresses the “what” and “how,” it also explains the “why” behind medication usage. Why this medication was prescribed. Why timing matters. Why side effects may occur, and when they warrant concern. This context encourages patients to actively participate in their care rather than passively follow instructions that they may not fully trust or remember.
From a leadership perspective, medication education is also an opportunity to improve quality metrics. Measures tied to adherence, medication safety, and chronic disease outcomes are directly influenced by how well patients understand and manage their therapies.
Systemic challenges influencing health literacy levels
According to the World Health Organization, health literacy is defined as “being able to access, understand, appraise and use information and services in ways that promote and maintain good health and well-being.”
Oftentimes, health literacy is framed as an individual shortcoming, yet there is data that tells a different story. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that only 14% of the U.S. population has proficient health literacy. And as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC and HHS declared that low rates of health literacy is a public health crisis “that impacts an individual’s ability to understand and make informed health decisions pertaining to vaccines and masking.”
The gap between adults who struggle to understand prescription labels, medication instructions, or the purpose of their therapies versus those who do is rarely due to a lack of motivation. Instead, it reflects a system that often fails the patient through:
- Clinical language: Relying on medical jargon rather than plain, accessible language.
- Assumed baseline knowledge: Presuming patients already understand complex physiological concepts or system navigation.
- High-stress delivery: Providing critical instructions during transitions of care or moments of acute illness when retention is lowest.
- Complex medication regimens: Requiring patients to manage multiple prescriptions, varying schedules, and potential side effects simultaneously.
- Structural barriers: Forcing patients to navigate insurance requirements and access hurdles alongside their clinical treatment.
With that in mind, healthcare teams need to understand that health literacy is about comprehension, confidence, and a patient’s ability to act on information. Improving it requires a deliberate shift in how healthcare organizations view and provide education.
A pharmacist’s role as a health literacy leader
Because pharmacists interact with patients regularly, they are in an ideal position to help improve medication education. Their direct patient accessibility allows them to engage patients at critical moments, such as initiation of therapy, transitions of care, and ongoing medication management.
Yet, too often, pharmacist-led education is constrained by time, fragmented systems, or narrowly defined workflows. To fully realize the impact of patient education on medication, organizations must give pharmacists the tools, data, and autonomy to deliver education that is personalized and clinically meaningful.
This includes access to comprehensive medication histories, visibility into patient-specific barriers (such as locations, language spoken, etc), and structured workflows that prompt education beyond surface-level counseling. When pharmacists are able to ask deeper questions about adherence challenges, beliefs, cultural considerations, and health goals, education becomes transformative rather than transactional.
Leadership plays a critical role here. Organizations that position pharmacists as educators and care coordinators, rather than just dispensers or reviewers, unlock a grand opportunity to improve health literacy.
How to move beyond one-size-fits-all patient education
Traditional approaches to medication education often rely on standardized scripts, printed leaflets, or brief verbal instructions. While these methods may check regulatory boxes, they rarely account for individual learning styles, language preferences, or health literacy levels.
- Take an adaptive approach: Effective patient medication education must be adaptive and personalized. It should reflect the patient’s condition, cultural context, cognitive ability, and readiness to engage. For some patients, visual aids or analogies may be most effective. But for others, repeated reinforcement over multiple touchpoints is essential.
- Leverage healthcare technology: Technology can play a powerful role in enabling this personalization. Digital platforms that support documentation, follow-up, and tailored messaging allow education to extend beyond a single encounter. When combined with pharmacist-led interventions, technology makes sure education is consistent, measurable, and scalable, all without losing the human connection that builds trust.
Education as a driver of health equity
Health literacy gaps disproportionately affect underserved populations, including older adults, those with lower income levels, and those who are uninsured. In these communities, inadequate patient education on medication exacerbates existing disparities, leading to poorer outcomes and higher utilization.
Addressing health literacy is, therefore, a matter of equity. Culturally competent education that respects language, beliefs, and lived experiences can significantly improve medication understanding and engagement. This requires thoughtful communication strategies and trained clinicians who can meet patients where they are.
Leaders who prioritize equitable education models show that quality care is not defined by the sophistication of treatment alone, but by the patient’s ability to benefit from it.
Measuring the impact of better medication education
For healthcare organizations, the value of patient medication education must be demonstrated as well as believed. Measurement is key. Metrics such as adherence rates, medication-related hospitalizations, patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes provide tangible evidence of impact. More specifically, organizations can track a few metrics to monitor the success of their education efforts:
- Patient Activation Measure (PAM) scores: A standardized metric that assesses a patient's knowledge, skill, and confidence in managing their own health and care.
- Medication adherence rates: Tracking if education interventions correlate with higher pharmacy refill rates or lower medication non-compliance notes in charts.
- HCAHPS communication scores: Specific patient satisfaction scores which reflect the patient's perception of how well information was shared.
Importantly, education should be documented as a clinical intervention, not an informal conversation. Structured documentation allows organizations to assess which strategies are most effective, identify gaps, and continuously refine their approach.
When education is treated as an integral component of care delivery, supported by data and aligned with organizational goals, it becomes sustainable rather than aspirational.
A leadership imperative for the future of care
As healthcare continues to evolve toward value-based models, the importance of health literacy will only grow. Patient medication education sits at the intersection of quality, cost, and experience, all of which influence outcomes long after a clinical encounter ends.
Leaders have a responsibility to champion education as a strategic priority. This means investing in pharmacist-led models, leveraging technology thoughtfully, and designing systems that reward understanding.
Ultimately, building health literacy is about respect and recognizing that patients are capable partners when given the right information, delivered in the right way, and at the right time. By strengthening patient education on medication, healthcare organizations can move closer to a system that is not only clinically advanced but truly patient-centered.
To learn more about Aspen RxHealth and how we can help improve patient education, contact us today.
