Critical Thinking

Critical thinking evaluates evidence, separates fact from opinion and determines whether cause and effect have been established. The skills for critical thinking can be learned but it requires the disposition and motivation to use them. Anyone involved in patient care can relate how little critical thought patients give to their health status. A 2003 survey of health literacy skills by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ARHQ) revealed 12 percent of adults were deemed proficient to obtain and use health information to make appropriate health care decisions. An important first step for health care reform would be health education for consumers done in such a way to foster skepticism and critical thinking. It may be the most important step.