What People Are Saying about Health Literacy and patientINFORM.org

“Health literacy, or the ability of individuals to access, understand and use health-related information and services to make appropriate health decisions is one of the most important issues facing America’s health care system today. All of us—governments, academia, health care professionals, biomedical journal publishers, communities and consumers—working together can bridge the gap between what health professionals know and what patients understand and thereby improve the health of all Americans.”
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Richard H. Carmona

“According to the Institute of Medicine Report on Health Literacy, 90 million people have difficulty understanding and using health information. The patientINFORM project to put medical information into context and make it readily available to the public will help improve the health literacy of Americans by making patient discussions with healthcare providers far more productive.”
U.S. Deputy Surgeon General Dr. Ken Moritsugu

“We are pleased to see this collaboration making so much critical information available free-of-charge to consumers over the Internet. Through patientINFORM, patients can be better consumers of healthcare, which will lead to improvement in their health. The patient INFORM concept should be especially helpful to sprawling congressional districts such as my own in Northwest Ohio, in which patients must drive, or be driven by friends and family, long distances for basic medical education, care and services.”
Representative Paul Gillmor (R-OH)

“Scientific research has never been more accessible than it is today. Yet, people still do not know enough about their own health, disease and treatments. The medical publishing industry has tried to address this need by making material more readily accessible. PatientINFORM is another example of this commitment. By joining with voluntary health organizations that have a long history of communicating information to consumers - they have created a new platform for disseminating information and are helping improve health literacy in America."
Representative Diana DeGette(D-CO)

“Patients and families in the rare disease community have a particular need to learn about their diseases. They may, of necessity, be more involved in diagnosis and treatment decisions than is normally the case. For more than 20 years, NORD has been providing information about rare diseases to patients and their families. Now patientINFORM will provide a platform for carrying that service to the next level.”
Mary Dunkle
Vice President for Communications
National Organization for Rare Disorders

“As the world’s leading organization in the fight against Lou Gehrig’s disease, The ALS Association (ALSA) is honored to expand its service to the ALS community through our new partnership with patientINFORM. Access to scientific research is imperative for those who have ALS and for the array of family, caregivers, legislators, researchers, health care professionals and others who need information about this devastating disease.”
Gary Leo,
President and CEO, The ALS Association

“We hope that connecting patients and others directly with many of the research studies that can have an impact on their treatment will be a valuable addition to the credible, reliable, and comprehensive information we, and our health partners, are dedicated to providing all Americans. For years, people have relied on our organizations to understand research findings, and we believe patient INFORM will empower 'expert patients' to go the next step and have direct access to select studies to have a more productive dialogue with their physicians and make well-informed decisions about their medical care."
Harmon J. Eyre, M.D.
National Chief Medical Officer, American Cancer Society

" patient INFORM's motto, Access + Interpretation = Understanding + Empowerment, underscores the guiding principle of this initiative. The active involvement of three of the most trusted voluntary health organizations in the world will help patients and caregivers understand and act upon the latest research on the diseases and conditions that cause nearly two of every three deaths, afflicting millions of Americans."
Rose Marie Robertson, M.D.
Chief Science Officer
American Heart Association

"The health literacy problem has been called a 'silent epidemic' because many patients are embarrassed or intimidated and do not seek help to understand difficult or complicated information. The result is that a crucial part of their medical care is missing, and so they put their health at risk."
Richard Kahn, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, American Diabetes Association

“The patientINFORM project is our attempt to do what we can as publishers to aid the effort to help improve health literacy in America. If we are to improve the health of all Americans, people need to better understand our health care system, the impact of disease, treatments and what we can and should do to keep ourselves healthy. patientINFORM is just one small step in this broader campaign and we are proud to be a part of the effort.”
Brian Crawford Brian Crawford, Ph.D.
Incoming Chairman of the American Association of Publishers
Professional Scholarly Publishing Division;
Senior Vice President of the American Chemical Society

“patientINFORM is a vital resource in the battle for improved health literacy as it combines the core information of peer-reviewed medical studies with meaningful explanations for patients and caregivers. Elsevier is proud to be part of such an endeavor and we look forward to our continue partnerships with leading patient health organizations in providing this critical information to the public."
Y.S. Chi
Vice Chairman, Elsevier