Over the past 15 years, the number of ESL/no English patients that doctors have been seeing has increased exponentially. With this in mind, here is a list of best practices for communicating with ESL patients that doctors, and other healthcare professionals, should keep in mind when confronted with an ESL/no English patient.
The emergency room physician misdiagnosed the girl’s condition as gastroenteritis, prescribed a drug not recommended for pediatric use, failed to inform the parents of the potential side effects of the drug, and failed to provide discharge instructions to the parents in their native language.
Not being able to speak in the same language as the people around you makes navigating through daily life complicated, but it’s more than a nuisance when you’re not well. Not being able to communicate to your healthcare providers is downright dangerous and potentially fatal. For instance, complications from improperly administered prescription drugs, lack of preventive care […]
Over the past 15 years, the number of ESL/no English patients that doctors have been seeing has increased exponentially. With this in mind, here is a list of best practices for communicating with ESL patients that doctors, and other healthcare professionals, should keep in mind when confronted with an ESL/no English patient.
A 9-year old Vietnamese girl suffering from an infection was rushed to the hospital by her parents and 16-year old brother. Her parents spoke primarily Vietnamese. The hospital failed to provide an interpreter at any point in the medical encounter, relying instead on the girl and her brother to interpret for the physician and parents.
The population of the U.S. has become increasingly diverse. Approximately 57 million people in America speak a language other than English at home. That figure represents 20 percent of the population. Approximately 25 million are defined as being Limited English Proficient (LEP). Training the medical team on procedures for using interpretation services will help ensure quality care. […]
Experts in healthcare interpretation services have found that qualified interpreters can improve the care for limited English proficiency patients. The National Council on Interpreting in Healthcare is an organization dedicated to creating equal access to health care through accurate interpretation and translation. Besides advocating for interpretation rights for patients, the organization also provides training for interpreters. […]
Professional interpreting services will help your entire medical team provide better care to patients. Working with diverse patients who have Limited Proficiency in communicating in English (LEP for “Limited English Proficiency”) presents some unique challenges for medical professionals. Understanding medical terminology and instructions can be difficult even without a language barrier, so it’s easy to see […]
Using an interpreter can lead to better patient outcomes. When there is a language barrier between doctors and patients, it’s important to make sure both sides fully understand each other. In the arena of medical care, misunderstandings due to a language barrier can sometimes have dangerous–even fatal–consequences. When thirteen-year-old Gricelda Zamora was taken to the hospital with […]
Litigation happens. It’s a simple truth when doing business, that no matter how tight and orderly your company’s processes are, mistakes happen, and litigation can happen as well.
