In the report Healthy People 2010 , the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services define it as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.”
V poročilu Zdravi ljudje 2010 je ameriško Ministrstvo za zdravje in človeške vire zdravstveno pismenost opredelilo kot „ stopnjo, do katere so posamezniki sposobni pridobiti, obdelati in razumeti osnovne informacije o zdravju in storitvah, ki so potrebne za sprejemanje ustreznih odločitev v zvezi z zdravjem “ .