6 Tips for Making Your Patient Education Pieces Easier to Understand

by Susan Keane Baker

What do you want the patient to do as a result of your document? Make sure that everything in the document supports that goal.
Use short simple statements that are jargon-free. If you must use jargon, include a dictionary of those terms at the end of the document.
If you are using a question and answer format, phrase the questions exactly as your patients do.
Prune your text. Take out unnecessary words, even paragraphs. Does everything in the text support the goal of the document?
Browse through Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care for a wonderful illustration of writing that stood the test of time for clarity.
Ask some patients to proofread a draft for you and indicate where they got stuck in the document. Where did they have to stop and re-read? What questions did they have as they went along, and were those questions answered? What do the patients think they were supposed to do as a result of reading the document?

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