Doreen DeGroff is passionate about the topic of health literacy and shares her expertise and perspective in this HIT Consultant article. She provides background and research on the overarching issue of health literacy in the U.S. Doreen has worked with hospitals and clinical teams across the nation on their EMR implementations. She explains strategies that healthcare teams can use to assess their community and communication practices to shrink the communication gaps that often contribute to health literacy issues. Read this article for five specific steps that physicians and clinical teams at any hospital can use to help patients navigate their care in the best possible way.