Improving communication with patients with limited English proficiency.

Breena R. Taira

Commentary

Improving communication with patients with limited English proficiency.

March 28, 2018

Taira BR. JAMA Int Med. 2018;178(5):605-606.

View more articles from the same authors.

Communication in health care is complicated, particularly when there are language barriers between providers and their patients. This commentary describes how undercommunication with patients with limited English proficiency is normalized in health care. The author recommends that health care systems enable actions such as direct access to interpreters and explicit notification of patient language preference to address this communication deficiency.

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