KQED ‘Health Dialogues’ Program to Examine Patient Health Literacy Tonight

KQED's "Health Dialogues," a live monthly call-in program sponsored by the California Endowment to examine health care issues in the state, tonight will address the problems faced by a number of patients "who are increasingly taking responsibility" for their health care. Tonight's "Health Dialogues" will focus on programs and technologies available to help guide patients through the "maze of red tape en route to needed tests and services" in a "less than user-friendly" health care system. The program will include interviews with Dr. Tung Nguyen of the University of California-San Francisco on additional problems that immigrants and minorities face in their health care management and with Lisa Bennett-Garrison, executive director of California Literacy in Pasadena, on the California Health Literacy Initiative. Guests on tonight's program include Sheila Crigle of Win Against Breast Cancer in Pamona; Ann Monroe, director of the Quality Initiative at the California HealthCare Foundation; and Dr. Dean Schillinger, medical director for continuous quality improvement at San Francisco General Hospital. The program will air at 7 p.m. PT. Check local radio listings for availability. The program will be available online in RealAudio within one day of the broadcast (KQED, "Health Dialogues" release, 5/6).