Low health literacy rates that span across the United States account for $106-$236 billion dollars in healthcare costs. Many factors contribute to health literacy levels such as belief systems, sex, age, social status, culture, language barriers, and most importantly comprehension. Previous studies have demonstrated that taking explicit measures to increase the health literacy rate of health care consumers, would ultimately work for the good of the medical industry and the American society at large. The focus of this research is improving health literacy in rural areas using technology. The creation of a healthy population is not solely reliant on technology, but it can be dependent on the active pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the people. The United States would gain a wealthy economy by improving the health of the United States Population. This may be possible with the use of technological tools to provide pertinent health information to their rural population. Providing accurate and simplistic information to the rural population would result in a significant improvement in the health rates of the nation. This paper suggests that one of the tools that the United States should use to improve health is Health Informatics Technology (HIT). HIT should be used to improve the health literacy rates for adults that are at or below basic health literacy levels. This system should be used to introduce the importance of patient empowerment and to adjust their quality of life. By utilizing the mechanics of healthcare informatics and focusing on the ways to enhance health literacy, HIT can change the direction of healthcare spending. This paper looks closely at how Health Informatics: can Improve Healthcare Access, Produce Positive Outcomes, along with the Challenges of using HIT. It also Explores avenues of Health Informatics and Improved Patient Education, along with Patient Education Delivery using HIT. In the rural population healthcare has been compromised when dealing with their access and comprehension of medical information. By implementing HIT, it can alter the healthcare system by positively changing their perception of health. By correcting the issues that the rural population may face, Health Informatics Technology (HIT) would be a great tool to improve their health literacy rates.

Published in: London International Conference on Education (LICE-2020)

• Date of Conference: 23-25 November 2020
• DOI: 10.2053/LICE.2020.0026
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-22-8
• Conference Location: London, UK