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Date
2025
Abstract
Many patients struggle to determine when and where to seek medical care. This is especially present in those with limited health literacy, language barriers, or unfamiliarity with the U.S. healthcare system. This can lead to the misuse, underutilization, or overutilization of primary care and other healthcare services, which contributes to excessive healthcare spending, crowding, and poorer long-term outcomes. This project employed a mixed-methods approach to assess provider perceptions of patient understanding regarding appropriate healthcare utilization. A survey and clinical vignette-based assessment were distributed to staff at a primary care outpatient clinic to identify common areas of confusion. In response to the findings, an educational poster was developed in English and translated into Spanish, visually outlining appropriate uses for primary care, urgent care, telehealth, emergency departments, and other healthcare services. The poster is designed as a template to be adapted into additional languages and serves as a tool to improve health literacy and reduce misutilization. The project highlights the need for multilingual, culturally sensitive patient education to enhance navigation of the U.S. healthcare system.
Clinical Site
40 Cross Street, Norwalk CT 06850
Keywords
Healthcare Services, Patient Education, Misuse
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Disciplines
Medical Education | Primary Care
Recommended Citation
Baugh, Timothy E., "Appropriate Use of Healthcare Services: A Patient Education Initiative" (2025). Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects. 1108.
https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1108