Good care starts with questions that patients understand

In healthcare, we often think carefully aboutwhat we ask. Buthow we ask is just as important.Does the patient understand the questions?A published study by our Medical Head, Domino Determann, emphasizes that more attention needs to be paid to ensuring that questions in patient-reported questionnaires are understandable.

Why is this important?
Healthcare is asking more and more of patients: filling out questionnaires, describing symptoms, sharing experiences. But what if this is too complex? Not only do the results become unreliable, but we also (unintentionally) exclude people who have difficulty reading and writing. This also includes people with limited health literacy.

Our approach at ConsultAssistent
At ConsultAssistent, we pay close attention to thecomprehensibility of our question modules. We have been doing this for years, which has allowed us to build up a wealth of experience in formulatingclear and understandablequestions for patients. We ensure that our modules are written at B1 language level. And we use tools such as the Pharos | Expertise Center for Health Differences quick test to make our modules as comprehensible as possible.

In addition, we routinely request patient evaluations for new and existing modules. We use multiple evaluation questionnaires, including questions that specifically address the comprehensibility of the module. Based on this feedback, we continuously improve our modules to ensure they are well-suited to patients' experiences and language levels.

What does B1 language mean in practice?
➡️ Short, direct sentences
➡️ No jargon or unnecessary complexity
➡️ Clear, concrete questions

Curious to see how this looks in our question modules? Request a demovia our website.

View the original post on our LinkedIn page.