BACKGROUND: Inadequate health literacy is prevalent among seniors and is associated with poor health outcomes. At hospital discharge, medications are frequently changed and patients are informed of these changes via their discharge instructions.
OBJECTIVES: Explore the association between health literacy and medication discrepancies 48 hours after hospital discharge and determine the causes of discharge medication discrepancies.
DESIGN: Face-to-face surveys assessing health literacy at hospital discharge using the short form of the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (sTOFHLA). We obtained the medication lists from the written discharge instructions. At 48 hrs post-discharge, we phoned subjects to assess their current medication regimen, any medication discrepancies, and the causes of the discrepancies.
PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and fifty-four community-dwelling seniors ≥ 70 years, admitted to acute medicine services for >24 hours at an urban hospital.