Welcome to the Always Use Teach-back! training toolkit

The purpose of this toolkit is to help all health care providers learn to use teach-back—every time it is indicated—to support patients and families throughout the care continuum, especially during transitions between health care settings.

The toolkit combines health literacy principles of plain language and using teach-back to confirm understanding, with behavior change principles of coaching to new habits and adapting systems to promote consistent use of key practices.

What Is Teach-back?

• A way to make sure you—the health care provider—explained information clearly; it is not a test or quiz of patients.
• Asking a patient (or family member) to explain—in their own words—what they need to know or do, in a caring way.
• A way to check for understanding and, if needed, re-explain and check again.
• A research-based health literacy intervention that promotes adherence, quality, and patient safety.

Click here for 10 Elements of Competence for Using Teach-back Effectively (PDF).

What Is In This Toolkit?

This toolkit includes:

• An introduction on Using the Teach-back Toolkit.
• An Interactive Teach-back Learning Module enabling learners to identify and use key aspects of plain language and teach-back throughout the care continuum, by following a patient’s experience during hospital discharge through the home health and primary care settings.
• Coaching to Always Use Teach-back with tips and tools to help managers and supervisors empower staff to always use teach-back.
• Readings, resources, and videos To Learn More.

What is an Always Event?

Always Events™ are “aspects of the patient and family experience that should always occur when patients interact with health care professionals and the delivery system.”