Influence of the Teach-back Method on Patient Understanding and Satisfaction

The teach-back method is an education technique in which the patient is asked to repeat back the information given to them in order to verify comprehension. If knowledge gaps are identified, reteaching is then done. According to Linn et al. (2013), patients are unable to recall almost half of the medication information presented to them and recall is correlated to medication adherence. The teach-back method is optimized for improving patient understanding from their current level (Tamura-Lis, 2013). One of the most crucial times to provide patients with information is at discharge, before they take on new care procedures or medications. A study investigating the efficacy of the teach-back method demonstrated increased patient knowledge and satisfaction with medication teachings (Marks et al. 2022). This paper examines whether use of the teach-back method at discharge influences patient understanding and satisfaction.