Family medicine
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Patients' health literacy is increasingly recognized as a critical factor affecting patient-physician communication and health outcomes. We reviewed research on health literacy, examined its impact on patient-physician communication, and offer recommendations to enhance communication with patients who have poor health literacy. ⋯ Future research needs to address identification of optimal methods for communicating with patients who have low literacy skills. This should focus on the effect of poor health literacy on patients' ability to communicate their history and physicians' ability to solicit information, as well as identifying the most-effective techniques to educate patients.