Understanding your own health shouldn’t be a privilege.
MedLit is a student-led nonprofit that makes health information understandable. We take the documents people are handed at the pharmacy, the lab, and the insurance office, and put them in plain language through free workshops and free plain-language guides, in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Turkish, and Persian.
See what we doOur why
You get handed a prescription label, a lab result, an insurance letter. The print is small and the words are hard to understand. The person who could explain it has already moved on to the next patient.
So you guess. And guessing about your own health is a risk no one should have to take.
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75 million
U.S. adults have basic or below-basic health literacy.
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1 in 8
Only about 1 in 8 U.S. adults have proficient health literacy.
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1 in 2
Nearly half of patients misread at least one instruction on common prescription labels. Even among strong readers, more than 1 in 3 did.
What we do
We take the documents you get handed at the pharmacy, the lab, and the insurance office. We put them in plain language. Two ways: in a room, and on one page.
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Free workshops
30 to 45 minutes, interactive, at senior communities, libraries, and food pantries. We bring the materials and the facilitators. You bring the room and the people.
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Free guides
One page each, in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Turkish, and Persian. Read them on your phone, print them, hand them out at the front desk.
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Free. Always.
No fee, no trial, no first-one-free. There is no version of this that costs money, for the workshops or for the guides.
Free to read, print, and hand out.
No sign-up. No email address. No catch.
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What Does My Prescription Label Say?
Every part of a prescription label, explained one piece at a time. Drug name, dose, directions, refills, dates.
- Format
- PDF, 1 page
- Reviewed
- Licensed healthcare professional
Download it in
EN English — What Does My Prescription Label Say? (PDF) ES Español — ¿Qué dice la etiqueta de mi medicamento recetado? (PDF, Spanish) VI Tiếng Việt — Nhãn thuốc kê toa của tôi nói gì? (PDF, Vietnamese) TR Türkçe — Reçete etiketim ne söylüyor? (PDF, Turkish) FA فارسی — برچسب نسخه من چه میگوید؟ (PDF, Persian) -
How Do I Read a Lab Report?
Your lab report has a structure. Patient details, test name, result, units, reference range, flags — one piece at a time.
- Format
- PDF, 1 page
- Reviewed
- Licensed healthcare professional
Download it in
EN English — How Do I Read a Lab Report? (PDF) ES Español — ¿Cómo leo un informe de laboratorio? (PDF, Spanish) VI Tiếng Việt — Làm sao để đọc phiếu kết quả xét nghiệm? (PDF, Vietnamese) TR Türkçe — Laboratuvar raporumu nasıl okurum? (PDF, Turkish) FA فارسی — چگونه برگه آزمایش خود را بخوانم؟ (PDF, Persian)
Our partners
Where to find our guides.
We do not hand guides out on our own. These are the pantries, the outreach centers and the senior programs that put them in front of the people who need them. Open a partner to see what we have handed out there.
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7
Partner organizations
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798
Guides handed out through them
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5
Languages handed out so far
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1
Workshops held
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Cy-Fair Helping Hands
Houston, TX
View details
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MESA Outreach
Houston, TX
View details
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Abba’s House
Houston, TX
View details
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Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries
Tomball, TX
View details
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Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels
Rosenberg, TX
View details
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church Houston, TX View details
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Park Creek Active Living
Cypress, TX
View details
Food pantry and emergency assistance
Cy-Fair Helping Hands
Houston, TX
380
guides handed out, over 2 distributions
- EN 210 English
- ES 170 Spanish
About
A food pantry and emergency assistance program serving families across northwest Harris County.
Who they serve
Anyone in the area with a need for food.
Find them
When we have been
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160
guides handed out
EN90
English ES70
Spanish -
220
guides handed out
EN120
English ES100
Spanish
Food pantry and community outreach
MESA Outreach
Houston, TX
80
guides handed out, over 2 distributions
- EN 62 English
- ES 18 Spanish
About
A northwest Houston food pantry and outreach organization, founded in 2009 and renamed MESA — Spanish for “table” — in 2016.
Who they serve
Families across eight ZIP codes, through one of the few evening pantries in Harris County.
Where they are
Pantry on the campus of Bear Creek United Methodist Church, Houston, TX
Mail: PO Box 841075, Houston, TX 77284
Find them
When we have been
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40
guides handed out
EN22
English ES18
Spanish -
40
guides handed out
EN40
English
Refugee and newcomer services
Abba’s House
Houston, TX
18
guides handed out, over 1 distribution
- EN 8 English
- ES 5 Spanish
- TR 2 Turkish
- FA 3 Persian
About
Support for refugee and newcomer families settling in the Houston area.
Who they serve
Refugee and immigrant families, in several languages.
Find them
When we have been
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18
guides handed out
EN8
English ES5
Spanish TR2
Turkish FA3
Persian
Food pantry and emergency assistance
Tomball Emergency Assistance Ministries
Tomball, TX
10
guides handed out, over 1 distribution
- EN 10 English
About
Known as TEAM. A food pantry, resale shop and emergency assistance ministry in Tomball.
Who they serve
Families needing short-term help with food, clothing, rent, utilities or prescriptions.
Where they are
300 W. Main St.
Tomball, TX 77375
Find them
When we have been
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10
guides handed out
EN10
English
Senior meals and senior centers
Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels
Rosenberg, TX
150
guides handed out, over 1 distribution
- EN 135 English
- ES 15 Spanish
About
Home-delivered meals and congregate senior centers across Fort Bend and Waller Counties.
Who they serve
Adults 60 and over, regardless of income.
Where they are
1330 Band Road
Rosenberg, TX 77471
Find them
When we have been
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150
guides handed out
EN135
English ES15
Spanish
Parish and community events
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church
Houston, TX
145
guides handed out, over 1 distribution
- EN 30 English
- ES 15 Spanish
- VI 100 Vietnamese
About
A Houston parish whose fall festival runs a first aid station for the people who come through.
Who they serve
Parishioners and neighbours at parish events, in several languages.
Find them
When we have been
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145
guides handed out
EN30
English ES15
Spanish VI100
VietnameseAt the fall festival first aid station.
Senior living community
Park Creek Active Living
Cypress, TX
15
guides handed out, over 1 distribution
1 workshop held here
- EN 15 English
About
A senior living community in Cypress.
Who they serve
Residents of the community.
Find them
When we have been
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15
guides handed out
EN15
EnglishIncluded a workshop
About
Home-delivered meals and congregate senior centers across Fort Bend and Waller Counties.
Who they serve
Adults 60 and over, regardless of income.
Where they are
1330 Band Road
Rosenberg, TX 77471
Find them
If you run a pantry, a clinic waiting room, a library or a senior center, we will send you guides to put on your front desk. Free, printed or as files you print yourself.
Become a partner medliterateofficial@gmail.com
What people are saying.
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“The MedLiterate students are providing our clients with useful and valuable health education and we look forward to their returning to Cy-Fair Helping Hands.”
Janet Ryan Executive Director, Cy-Fair Helping Hands
So we teach people to read them.
30 to 45-minute interactive sessions at senior communities, libraries, and food pantries, covering how to read prescription labels, lab results, and insurance letters.
- How long
- 30 to 45 minutes, interactive.
- Where
- Senior communities, libraries, food pantries, community organizations.
- What we cover
- Prescription labels, lab results, insurance letters.
- What we bring
- The materials and the facilitators.
- What you bring
- The room and the people.
- Cost
- Free. Always.
We check the work, and we measure it.
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Reviewed before release
One-page plain-language guides in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Turkish, and Persian, each reviewed by a licensed healthcare professional before release.
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Checked at every workshop
We check understanding at every workshop. A before-and-after test at every session is where we want to get to; until that is the plan everywhere, this is what we can stand behind.
Bring a free workshop to your space.
If you run a senior community, a library, or a community organization, we would love to visit. We handle the materials and the facilitators. You bring the room and the people. Tell us a little about your group and we’ll follow up with dates.
Email us about hosting medliterateofficial@gmail.com
We’re looking for our first volunteers.
People to print guides, get them to a front desk, write them, and read the translations back to us. If you can explain things clearly, or you speak a second language, there is a place for you here.
Already volunteering? Log your hours.
- Print guides
- Run off a stack for a partner's front desk.
- Drop off guides
- Take them to a pantry, a clinic, a library.
- Check translations
- Read a translated guide in your own language and tell us what reads wrong.
- Write guides
- Turn one confusing document into one clear page.