Say Ah! helps people make good choices about their health and manage their care in the face of today’s overwhelming complex health care system.
Say Ah! does this by educating and empowering patients and consumers through our health literacy workshops, curricula and materials; partnering with health and community service professionals to make health information and services easier to access, use and understand; and by advocating on behalf of the nearly nine out of ten Americans who lack the basic skills needed to function effectively in our health care system.
Say Ah!’s popular initiatives include our Patient 101™ Curricula Series, and Tips for Talking with Your Doctor™. Say Ah!’s Patient 101 curricula provides meaningful tips and strategies to help consumers access and use health and medical information and services safely and effectively. It has been used in caregiver and consumer workshops for adults, seniors and teens at sites such as Meals on Wheels and the New York Public Library.
Say Ah!’s Tips for Talking with Your Doctor™ wallet card helps patients become partners in their care. It’s written and designed for a broad range of audiences, including those with low literacy levels, reading and learning differences, and vision impairments, and is available in four languages. It has been disseminated throughout the U.S., and can be found in health centers, doctor’s offices, libraries, and downloaded from our website.
Say Ah!’s content is based on a variety of studies and resources such as IOM, AHRQ, and other reliable sources. We write original content and get feedback on it from consumers.
Say Ah! also provides trainings in health literacy best practices. We have trained residents and community service providers in health literacy at hospitals and health centers including New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, New York University Langone Cancer Center, Beth Israel Medical Center, and Hudson River HealthCare, and its founders have presented to professional organizations such as The Society of Teachers of Family Medicine and Health Literacy Action Group/New York, among others. Its timely and informative contributions to health provider and consumer outlets include XM/Sirius’ Dr. Radio show, School Nurse News and Parent Guide News.
Say Ah! — as in “Open your mouth and say ‘Ah’” and “Ah, I understand now”– was founded in 2007 to help the nearly one out of two adult Americans who suffer from low health literacy.
Low health literacy is a major driver of poor outcomes and high health care costs. Those who suffer from low health literacy are less likely to access screening and prevention services, take medications as directed, or navigate the health care system. They face a far higher risk of hospitalization, persistent poor health, and premature death. The cost is estimated at $238 billion in unnecessary health care expenses primarily paid for by Medicare and Medicaid.
Join us to improve health literacy. Use our tips, our services, become a partner, make a donation. You can learn more about us and what we do on this website. Or contact us to talk further at info@say-ah.org.