Waitakere Health Link runs a panel of consumers who review the written information health providers give to patients — forms, letters, leaflets and information sheets.
The panel checks that the material does its job:
Keeping information simple helps whānau understand the health information and services they need to make good decisions about their wellbeing.
Providers tell us the process is quick, easy and worth doing. Here is what it looks like.
Forms, letters, leaflets or information sheets — whatever your patients have to read and act on.
Not one person, but a group of consumers who discuss every aspect: the text, the layout and the images.
Practical feedback comes back to you, with one point of contact throughout if you have questions.
“We used Waitakere Health Link to gain consumer feedback on our forms and letters to parents. The service was user friendly, quick and efficient, and communication was excellent as to where forms were in the process.
The feedback was extremely helpful — so good to get a completely different perspective. It was such a quick and painless process that I would recommend Health Link to any peers or other services.”
Auckland Regional Dental Service, Waitematā DHB
“As healthcare moves towards patient-centred care, it is essential we include the expertise of consumers. Waitakere Health Link helps us produce patient information that is clear and concise, removing the medical jargon we so easily overlook.
It matters that we get feedback from not just one person, but a panel of consumers who discuss every aspect of the information — text, layout and images. They are easy to deal with, prompt, and there is a single point of contact for any queries.”
Pharmacist and Project Manager, Quality Use of Medicines, Waitematā DHB
“It is great to have an insight into how our patients may interpret or visualise our information. As health professionals we use certain words so often that we forget a non-medical person may not understand them — it helps to put things into plain language.
It was particularly helpful with a family information sheet we recently reviewed: ‘what to expect when someone is dying’.”
“I highly value the opportunity to work with community-conscious, caring individuals who want to share their voices and work together to provide information people can easily use. The people in Waitakere are lucky to have a group doing this work.”
ZR
“We have covered a wide range of topics, trying to keep things clear and understandable for the public. It is good to receive feedback and find we have helped in some way.”
Natalie Carroll
“Health Link is a vital link between the health service and consumers, giving us a voice and an activity I feel I can contribute to. It lets me give something back to the community while learning what is available within the health services.
Communication is vital if health services are to be effective, and health literacy — though we may think it simple — is surprisingly complex, because each person uses language in their own individual way.”
Pam Antil
“Medical terms and jargon are difficult. Health literacy work has brought a Pacific voice into health information services. Having information that is easy to understand makes a real difference for people with English as a second language when they need to make important decisions.”
Victoria Rasmussen
Have patient information you want reviewed by the people who will actually read it? Send it to us.
Request a reviewJoin the Consumer Health Literacy Group and help make health information clearer for everyone in the west.
Join the group