A study was conducted to determine the SMOG readability formula scores of currently available patient education materials. It was hypothesized that the reading level of the materials would be higher than 7.5, the reading level of the average American citizen; and that there would be a significant reduction in the measured document reading levels if key terms were assumed to be known (pre-taught) and were counted as one syllable words on the SMOG. The SMOG readability grade levels of 10 sample education pamphlets dealing with respiratory diseases were determined. Results indicated that the lowest SMOG grade level on the materials was 2.92 levels above the population mean, 7.5; and that assuming knowledge of key terms and counting them as one syllable words for SMOG calculations reduced the lowest level to 1.98 grade levels above 7.5. The results suggest that readability formulas have a potential role in the evaluation of patient education materials, but that this potential may be limited to serving as a guideline. They also suggest that assessment of the patient's educational level be incorporated into patient evaluations, and that the inclusion of a vocabulary at the beginning of each document would result in a more readable and therefore more valuable document. (HTH)