Health Literacy

Health literacy is the cheapest lever in healthcare.

Quizzify highlights the importance of employee health literacy assessment and how our learning platform improves health literacy in the workplace.

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The hidden health-literacy tax

When employees can't navigate care, the plan pays for it.

12%
are savvy users of health care
1 / 3
of medical spend is wasted
$238B
a year in avoidable U.S. health costs
Why it matters

Most people can't navigate their own healthcare.

And the bill for that confusion lands on employers and self-insured plans.

12%

of Americans are “well-informed, savvy users of health care.”

Source: JAMA

1 / 3 of all medical-care spending by U.S. businesses is wasted.

Accenture research chart showing that more than half of US consumers cannot navigate the healthcare system, driving an estimated $4.8 billion in annual administrative cost for payers.

Source: Accenture

In the news

The press keeps making our case for us.

Recent articles on why employee health literacy is worth taking seriously.

New York Times · February 2020

A Possible Strategy for Fending Off Surprise Medical Bills

Writing in payment limits when signing hospital forms might provide some leverage over disputes that arise from surprise medical bills, some proponents suggest.
Read more
NPR · February 2018

Unnecessary Medical Care: More Common Than You Might Imagine

It's one of the intractable financial boondoggles of the U.S. health care system: Lots and lots of patients get lots and lots of tests and procedures that they don't need.
Read more
Workforce · February 2017

Health Literacy Empowers Employees to Make Better Decisions

It's important to consider the ways in which you can potentially save money… If people are better informed, they could make better decisions and utilize the health care system more efficiently.
Read more
The Atlantic · February 2017

When Evidence Says No, but Doctors Say Yes

Long after research contradicts common medical practices, patients continue to demand them and physicians continue to deliver. The result is an epidemic of unnecessary and unhelpful treatments.
Read more
CNN · March 2017

Health Illiteracy Can Be Deadly

Low levels of health literacy contribute to mistakes in taking medication, worsened glycemic control among patients with diabetes, greater use of health care services including emergency room visits, and poor self-reported health.
Read more
Philadelphia Tribune · February 2017

Politics, Obamacare and Health Literacy

[Health literacy] includes the ability to understand instructions on prescription drug bottles, appointment slips, medical education brochures, doctor's directions and consent forms, and the ability to negotiate complex health care systems.
Read more
Employee Benefit News · March 2017

Employers Embrace New Strategies to Cut Healthcare Costs

Educating employees to be smarter healthcare consumers is key.… If we are expecting them to act like consumers, we have to arm them with the tools. Most people don't know where to start.
Read more
Forbes · September 2018

Low Health Literacy Costs U.S. Employers $5 Billion A Year

The inability of U.S. consumers to navigate the healthcare system costs $4.8 billion annually in administrative expenses for employers and insurers picking up the tab for patient medical costs.
Read more
Case study

An effective initiative creates a health-literate workforce.

Vermont Schools · 1,700 employees.

93%

of registered employees played the launch quiz.

470

employees registered within the first month — with a single $25 gift-card incentive.

71%

agreed they knew more about their health and healthcare after just one quiz.

What we teach

A curriculum reviewed by Harvard Medical School doctors.

Our content reflects the latest research in health and healthcare, so your employees have the expert knowledge to make the wisest, healthiest decisions. Topics include:

DiagnosticsSurgeriesSpecialist ReferralsScreeningsMedicationsSmokingCaregivingDental CareSummer HazardsHealth BenefitsNutritionParentingFinancial WellnessWeight Control
Harvard Health Publishing logo

Our curriculum (other than non-clinical questions and questions naming specific products) is reviewed for clinical accuracy by doctors at Harvard Medical School.

Get started

Health-literate employees are healthy employees.

Let's build a health-literate workforce together. See it in a live demo — or play a real quiz first.

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Harvard Medical School–reviewed · Validation Institute–certified savings · No PHI, zero IT lift