National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy.

Book/Report

National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy.

June 16, 2010

Washington, DC: United States Department of Health and Human Services; 2010.

This report presents goals for improved health literacy in the United States and recommends practices to help ensure that patients understand their health care.

Available at

Summary (PDF)

Free full text (PDF)

Related Resources From the Same Author(s)

National Action Plan for Adverse Drug Event Prevention.

September 24, 2014

Partnering to Heal: Teaming-Up Against Healthcare-Associated Infections.

July 20, 2011

New HHS Data Shows Major Strides Made in Patient Safety, Leading to Improved Care and Savings.

May 21, 2014

Medication Management: Detailed Use Case.

July 4, 2007

Partnership for Patients.

April 13, 2011

Adverse Events in Hospitals: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

November 24, 2010

Adverse Events in Hospitals: Methods for Identifying Events.

March 17, 2010

Adverse Events in Hospitals: Public Disclosure of Information About Events.

January 20, 2010

Patient Safety Act.

February 10, 2010

Opioids in Medicare Part D: Concerns About Extreme Use and Questionable Prescribing.

August 9, 2017

Trends in Nursing Home Deficiencies and Complaints.

October 29, 2008

Safe Practices for Better Healthcare: 2010 Update.

April 21, 2010

The Role of Human Factors in Home Health Care: Workshop Summary.

November 10, 2010

Preventing Medication Errors: A $21 Billion Opportunity.

February 16, 2011

Adverse Events in Rehabilitation Hospitals: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

July 27, 2016

Heparin-containing medical devices and combination products: recommendations for labeling and safety testing. Draft guidance for industry and Food and Drug Administration staff.

August 5, 2015

Adverse Events in Long-Term-Care Hospitals: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

January 9, 2019

Hospital Incident Reporting Systems Do Not Capture Most Patient Harm.

January 18, 2012

Few Adverse Events in Hospitals Were Reported to State Adverse Event Reporting Systems.

August 1, 2012

Adverse Events in Hospitals: Medicare's Responses to Alleged Serious Events.

November 16, 2011

Adverse Events in Skilled Nursing Facilities: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

March 19, 2014

Medicare’s Oversight of Compounded Pharmaceuticals Used in Hospitals.

February 11, 2015

Adverse Events Toolkit: Medical Record Review Methodology.

July 26, 2023

Adverse Events Toolkit: Clinical Guidance for Identifying Harm

July 19, 2023

Adverse Events in Hospitals: Care Study of Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries in Two Selected Counties.

February 18, 2009

Adverse Events in Hospitals: State Reporting Systems.

January 14, 2009

Adverse Events in Hospitals: Overview of Key Issues.

January 14, 2009

Goals and Priorities for Health Care Organizations to Improve Safety Using Health IT. Revised Report.

June 29, 2016

The Safe Use Initiative and Health Literacy: Workshop Summary.

December 15, 2010

Greater Focus on Credentialing Needed to Prevent Disqualified Providers From Delivering Patient Care.

March 13, 2019

Medicare and Medicaid programs; reform of requirements for long-term care facilities; proposed rule.

July 29, 2015

Sentinel Event Program.

August 14, 2013

The Power of Safety: State Reporting Provides Lessons in Reducing Harm, Improving Care.

July 7, 2010

Patient Safety: Hospitals Face Challenges Implementing Evidence-Based Practices.

March 9, 2016

Approaches and Challenges to Electronically Matching Patients' Records Across Providers.

March 6, 2019

Veterans Health Care: Veterans Health Administration Processes for Responding to Reported Adverse Events.

September 5, 2012

VA Health Care: VA Uses Medical Injury Tort Claims Data to Assess Veterans’ Care, but Should Take Action to Ensure That These Data Are Complete.

November 9, 2011

Progress Made Towards Improving Opioid Safety, But Further Efforts to Assess Progress and Reduce Risk Are Needed.

July 11, 2018

Defense Health Agency Should Improve Tracking of Serious Adverse Medical Events and Monitoring of Required Follow-up.

May 16, 2018

Actions Needed to Address Employee Misconduct Process and Ensure Accountability.

August 15, 2018

Prescription Opioids: Medicare Needs to Expand Oversight Efforts to Reduce the Risk of Harm.

November 22, 2017

Improved Policies and Oversight Needed for Reviewing and Reporting Providers for Quality and Safety Concerns.

December 6, 2017

Patient Options for Safe and Effective Disposal of Unused Opioids.

September 25, 2019

Trends in Pregnancy-Related Deaths and Federal Efforts to Reduce Them.

April 29, 2020

Health-Care-Associated Infections in Hospitals: An Overview of State Reporting Programs and Individual Hospital Initiatives to Reduce Certain Infections.

October 15, 2008

Quality and Safety in Women's Health Care. Second Edition.

October 20, 2010

2024 National Impact Assessment of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Measures Report.

March 20, 2024

Actions Needed to Improve Newly Enrolled Veterans' Access to Primary Care.

May 4, 2016

Drug Shortages: Certain Factors Are Strongly Associated With This Persistent Public Health Challenge.

July 20, 2016

Actions Needed to Help Ensure Appropriate Medication Continuation and Prescribing Practices.

February 24, 2016

VA Health Care: Actions Needed to Assess Decrease in Root Cause Analyses of Adverse Events.

September 9, 2015

DOD and VA Health Care: Medication Needs During Transitions May Not Be Managed for All Servicemembers.

November 28, 2012

Electronic Health Record Programs: Participation Has Increased, but Action Needed to Achieve Goals, Including Improved Quality of Care.

March 19, 2014

Drug Shortages: Public Health Threat Continues, Despite Efforts to Help Ensure Product Availability.

February 19, 2014

COVID-19 in Nursing Homes: CMS Needs to Continue to Strengthen Oversight of Infection Prevention and Control.

October 12, 2022

Indian Health Service: Actions Needed to Improve Use of Data on Adverse Events.

August 23, 2023

Community Living Centers: VA Needs to Strengthen Its Approach for Addressing Resident Complaints.

January 19, 2022

Infection Control Deficiencies Were Widespread and Persistent in Nursing Homes Prior to COVID-19 Pandemic.

May 27, 2020

Health-Care-Associated Infections in Hospitals: Leadership Needed from HHS to Prioritize Prevention Practices and Improve Data on these Infections.

April 30, 2008

Physician-Owned Specialty Hospital's Ability to Manage Medical Emergencies.

January 23, 2008

Patient Safety: HHS Has Taken Steps to Address Unsafe Injection Practices, but More Action Is Needed.

August 15, 2012

Evidence Brief: Implementation of High Reliability Organization Principles.

July 24, 2019

VA Health Care: Improvements Needed in Processes Used to Address Providers' Actions That Contribute to Adverse Events.

January 15, 2014

HHS Guide for Clinicians on the Appropriate Dosage Reduction or Discontinuation of Long-Term Opioid Analgesics.

October 30, 2019

AHRQ Health Services Research Project: Partners Enabling Diagnostic Excellence (R01).

April 3, 2019

Assessing the Evidence Base for Context-Sensitive Effectiveness and Safety of Patient Safety Practices: Developing Criteria.

August 27, 2008

Professional Conduct Toolkit.

February 9, 2011

Corporate Responsibility and Health Care Quality: A Resource for Health Care Boards of Directors.

July 18, 2007

Health Care Comes Home: The Human Factors.

August 3, 2011

The STOP Measure. Safe and Transparent Opioid Prescribing to Promote Patient Safety and Reduced Risk of Opioid Misuse.

July 1, 2019

Safety Assurance Factors for EHR Resilience: SAFER Guides.

January 29, 2014

Patient Safety Organizations: Hospital Participation, Value, and Challenges.

October 16, 2019

Patient Safety and Quality Improvement; Final Rule.

October 22, 2008

The Food and Drug Administration's National Drug Code Directory.

September 6, 2006

Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care.

November 16, 2011

When There's Harm in the Hospital: Can Transparency Replace "Deny and Defend"?

April 27, 2016

Clinician Well-Being Knowledge Hub.

April 4, 2018

NAM Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience.

February 15, 2017

Patient Safety Measures.

December 11, 2013

ONC Health IT Certification Program: Enhanced Oversight and Accountability.

November 30, 2016

Safer Together Annual Report.

November 21, 2023

Keeping Patients Safe: Transforming the Work Environment of Nurses.

May 11, 2005

Deficiencies in the Veterans Crisis Line Response to a Veteran Caller Who Died.

December 16, 2020

Deficiencies in Care, Care Coordination, and Facility Response to a Patient Who Died by Suicide, Memphis VA Medical Center in Tennessee.

September 30, 2020

Artificial Intelligence in Health Care: Benefits and Challenges of Machine Learning Technologies for Medical Diagnostics.

October 26, 2022

Strategy on Reducing Regulatory and Administrative Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs.

December 12, 2018

Health IT Patient Safety Action and Surveillance Plan.

July 17, 2013

Final Report of the Commission on Care.

August 3, 2016

Patient Safety 2015: Final Technical Report.

November 12, 2014

Recognizing Excellence in Diagnosis: Recommended Practices for Hospitals.

August 10, 2022

Standardizing a Patient Safety Taxonomy.

February 22, 2006

The National Healthcare System Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety.

November 14, 2022 - November 14, 2022

Critical Deficiencies at the Washington DC VA Medical Center.

March 21, 2018

Healthcare Inspection—Emergency Department Patient Deaths: Memphis VAMC, Memphis, Tennessee.

November 13, 2013

Deficiencies in Inpatient Mental Health Care Coordination and Processes Prior to a Patient's Death by Suicide, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital in Columbia, Missouri.

February 10, 2021

Failures in Care Coordination and Reviewing a Patient's Death at the VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System in Utah.

August 25, 2021

Deficiencies in Emergency Preparedness for Veterans Health Administration Telemental Health Care at VA Clinic Locations Prior to the Pandemic.

July 14, 2021

Patient Suicide on a Locked Mental Health Unit at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, Florida.

September 4, 2019

Inadequate Emergency Department Care and Physician Misconduct at the Washington DC VA Medical Center.

August 12, 2020

Deficiencies in Care Coordination and Facility Response to a Patient Suicide at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System, Minnesota.

January 29, 2020

Related Resources

National Action Alliance to Advance Patient and Workforce Safety Webinar Series.

September 26, 2023 - September 26, 2023

Patient Safety Primers

Personal Health Literacy

August 30, 2023

Adverse Events Toolkit: Medical Record Review Methodology.

July 26, 2023

TeamSTEPPS: Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety.

July 23, 2023

Adverse Events Toolkit: Clinical Guidance for Identifying Harm

July 19, 2023

Medication guides: patient medication information. A proposed rule by the Food and Drug Administration.

June 28, 2023

The National Healthcare System Action Alliance for Patient and Workforce Safety.

November 14, 2022 - November 14, 2022

Reinforcing the Value and Roles of Nurses in Diagnostic Safety: Pragmatic Recommendations for Nurse Leaders and Educators.

October 5, 2022

Best Practices in Developing Proprietary Names for Human Nonprescription Drug Products.

January 13, 2021

Best Practices in Developing Proprietary Names for Human Prescription Drug Products Guidance for Industry.

December 23, 2020

FDA advises health care professionals and patients about insulin pen packaging and dispensing.

October 28, 2020

Infection Control Deficiencies Were Widespread and Persistent in Nursing Homes Prior to COVID-19 Pandemic.

May 27, 2020

Medicare Part D Beneficiaries at Serious Risk of Opioid Misuse or Overdose: A Closer Look.

May 20, 2020

Hospital Experiences Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results of a National Pulse Survey March 23-27, 2020.

April 22, 2020

Patient Options for Safe and Effective Disposal of Unused Opioids.

September 25, 2019

Patient Suicide on a Locked Mental Health Unit at the West Palm Beach VA Medical Center, Florida.

September 4, 2019

Evidence Brief: Implementation of High Reliability Organization Principles.

July 24, 2019

Adverse Events in Long-Term-Care Hospitals: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

January 9, 2019

Strategy on Reducing Regulatory and Administrative Burden Relating to the Use of Health IT and EHRs.

December 12, 2018

Health Literacy Toolkit.

January 31, 2018

Patient Safety in the Office-Based Practice Setting.

November 15, 2017

Communicating Clearly About Medicines: Proceedings of a Workshop.

September 20, 2017

Health Literacy Tools for Providers of Medication Therapy Management.

August 16, 2017

Opioids in Medicare Part D: Concerns About Extreme Use and Questionable Prescribing.

August 9, 2017

Report on the Safe Use of Pick Lists in Ambulatory Care Settings.

December 7, 2016

Request for comments on the proposed measures and 2020 targets for the National Action Plan for Adverse Drug Event Prevention: inpatient and outpatient measures for reduction of adverse drug events from anticoagulants, diabetes agents, and opioid analgesics.

November 2, 2016

Making health care safer. Think sepsis. Time matters.

September 7, 2016

Adverse Events in Rehabilitation Hospitals: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

July 27, 2016

Health literacy and patient safety events.

July 13, 2016

Goals and Priorities for Health Care Organizations to Improve Safety Using Health IT. Revised Report.

June 29, 2016

See More About The Topic

Health Care Providers

Health Care Executives and Administrators

Educators

Health Literacy Improvement

National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy.

Personal Health Literacy

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy.

Personal Health Literacy

Connect With Us

Sign up for Email Updates

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue Logged In

Submit Your Innovations

Continue as a Guest

Continue logged in

New Users to the PSNet site