We have all, I’m sure, encountered language barriers in medicine in some form or another. Have you ever read an X-ray or MRI report? We have all had to ask at one time or another a version of “what does that mean?” This is particularly significant for patients for whom English is not their primary language. Language matters in healthcare when significant conditions are being discussed and patients (or their family) need to make critical healthcare decisions.

Part of the reason you and I have difficulty understanding is that many conditions and many body parts use Greek and latin roots that are not otherwise part of our vocabulary. One example: What’s a cholecystectomy? Why, that’s a surgery to remove your gallbladder, of course. A cystectomy is a surgery to remove your urinary bladder, and chole- comes from the Greek word for bile. And your gall bladder is a bile producing organ. Now you know.

More than 25 million Americans report limited comfort with English. And often medical staff are not properly equipped to communicate effectively with these folks. And 9 out of 10 providers interact without translators with patients who have limited English proficiency. It should therefore come as no surprise that patients with limited English proficiency have less understanding about what is going on with their care, and, tragically, are more susceptible to suffer from medical errors. The Joint Commission has reported that communication issues are one of the root causes of 59% of reported serious adverse events.  

So, how can clinics, hospitals, and providers overcome these language difficulties? Hiring bilingual (or polylingual) staff, having interpreters available, or using online translation resources, are all possible solutions. Implementation of these programs depends on a medical system’s willingness to invest in protecting the more vulnerable of their patient populations, and in turn, preventing malpractice incidents – and claims.