A patient’s next step is a useful test of an explanation. Teach-back can reveal uncertainty about who will schedule a test or how the result will be communicated.
Explain information clearly
Choose words, formats and numbers that patients can use; evaluate what a handout actually communicates.
- Health Literacy in Nursing · Teach-Back in Patient Education
- Plain Language in Health Communication · Communicating About Health Numeracy
- Risk Communication for Nurses · Communicating Uncertainty in Healthcare
- Patient Education Readability · Evaluating Patient Education Materials
Arrange communication support
Match language assistance, accessible materials and communication methods to the person and conversation.
- Working with Medical Interpreters · Language Access in Healthcare
- Communication with Patients Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing · Accessible Patient Education for Vision Impairment
- Augmentative Communication in Healthcare · Communicating with Patients with Cognitive Impairment
- Communication Access for Patients with Disabilities
Discuss choices and goals
Work through preferences, uncertainty and disagreement without treating assent as understanding.
- Trauma-Informed Communication · Motivational Interviewing in Nursing
- Shared Decision-Making · Patient Goals in Care Planning
- Culturally Responsive Nursing Communication · Responding to Health Misinformation
Communicate with families and across channels
Consider who participates, what the patient wants shared and how follow-up is documented.
- Family-Centered Communication · Communicating with Children in Healthcare
- Patient Portals and Nursing Communication · Telephone Communication and Nursing Documentation
Sources
- AHRQ: Use the Teach-Back Method (accessed 2026-11-11)
- CDC: Plain Language Materials and Resources (accessed 2026-11-11)
- U.S. Department of Justice: ADA Requirements for Effective Communication (accessed 2026-11-11)