Educating Clinicians to Improve Telemedicine Access for Patients with Limited English Proficiency

Tiffany M. Shin, Pilar Ortega and Karol Hardin
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Tiffany M. Shin: Department of Pediatrics, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA
Pilar Ortega: Departments of Medical Education and Emergency Medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
Karol Hardin: Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA

Challenges, 2021, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-7

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted the rapid incorporation of telemedicine into healthcare systems, resulting in increased access challenges for patients in the United States with limited English proficiency (LEP). Non-English-language speakers face challenges with telemedicine that magnify pre-existing barriers to language-appropriate care, such as difficulty accessing professional medical interpreters and navigating both electronic health information and online patient portals. Improved medical education on telehealth would increase equitable care for linguistic minorities. Medical education targeting telehealth care delivery should include clinician instruction on working with interpreters in telehealth contexts, increasing patient access to telehealth resources, and addressing patients’ language needs for telemedicine.

Keywords: telemedicine; language barriers; patient-doctor communication; limited English proficiency; health disparities; education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A00 C00 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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