Employers know that insurance coverage and competitive benefits are essential for attracting and retaining top talent — but when it comes to healthcare literacy, how important is it for your employees to be knowledgeable about how their benefits work?
WHAT IS HEALTHCARE LITERACY?
Generally speaking, healthcare literacy is important for everyone because, at some point, we will all have a reason to interact with and understand healthcare information and services. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health literacy can help us prevent health problems and protect our health, as well as better manage those problems and unexpected situations that happen.
So, when does a gap in health literacy occur? Essentially, whenever a person or organization delivers health information that is too difficult to understand, a health literacy problem is created. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration, health literacy issues are prevalent among older adults, minority populations, those with low socioeconomic status, and medically underserved people.
However, as the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated, anyone can fall prey to healthcare misinformation that circulates online or even among one’s communities and social circles. It’s more important than ever for employers to take an active role in promoting better health literacy among their workforce — after all, more informed employees will make better healthcare decisions. Improving the health literacy of your employees helps them better understand the value of preventative care, which leads to better business outcomes in terms of higher productivity and lower healthcare costs.
HOW EMPLOYERS CAN IMPROVE HEALTHCARE LITERACY
Sharing valuable resources as part of an employee’s onboarding or integrating it into regular workplace training can be invaluable. Providing guides to common healthcare terminology or resources about how to decipher a medical bill or EOB are low-lift efforts on behalf of the employer but will have a large impact on employees who inevitably will need to interact with the healthcare system.
Helping your employees to understand the importance of primary care will help guide them through healthcare-related decisions. If employees are given access to trusted preventative healthcare, they’ll be able to better maintain and safeguard their health for the long term.
Lastly, you may consider bringing on a dedicated healthcare resource for your workforce. Many employers know by now that all business leaders are in the business of healthcare. In fact, it’s become increasingly common for companies to hire a Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to steer an organization’s healthcare strategy, especially in the wake of the pandemic.
Eden Health can partner with your team to provide 24/7 access to employees for primary care, mental health support, healthcare navigation, and more. Learn how our clinical team can become a dedicated healthcare resource for your HR leaders and employees by contacting us today.
This blog is intended to be informational in nature. The information and other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment.
If you have any questions or concerns, please talk to your Care Team or other healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this blog or in any linked materials.