Patients are confronted with a variety of educational materials in health care settings. Nurses are often the primary distributors of written instructional and informational pamphlets and booklets. One problem identified has been a disparity between the reading levels of materials and the reading levels of a target population. Some health care providers attempt to calculate the readability of printed materials using mathematical formulas that consider such factors as the number of syllables, the number of sentences, or the length of sentences. This task is tedious, time-consuming, and may yield unreliable results based on human error. This article describes the use of a software package that calculates seven readability formulas and highlights the benefits obtained when it was used in a health care setting. Implementation of this approach supports the nursing management philosophy of providing patients with written materials that are understandable and contribute to well-informed health decisions.