This paper highlights the importance of the provision of interpreter services for patients of limited English proficiency (LEP) in primary care settings in the United States. In the United States today, over 8% of the population is of LEP, and yet no formal funding structure exists to ensure that these patients have access to interpreter services when they see their primary care provider. Research shows that without appropriate interpreter services, LEP patients not only endorse poorer subjective experiences of healthcare, but that these patients also experience objectively worse healthcare, such as less frequent visits to primary care providers, poorer management of chronic illness such as diabetes and hypertension, and higher rates of expensive testing in emergency departments, to list a few examples. This paper was inspired by firsthand experiences of a medical student learner at an urban health center witnessing frequent improper utilization of interpreter services by physicians in primary care settings. The paper traces the federal legal history addressing communication services in healthcare in the United States, reviews papers that juxtapose patient and provider opinions of interpreter services, and concludes with a discussion of potential steps forward for improving interpreter services offered to the large percentage of the US population that is currently receiving subpar care due to unsurmounted barriers to communication. / Urban Bioethics
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/3016 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Holland, Amy Wharton |
| Contributors | Jones, Nora L. |
| Publisher | Temple University. Libraries |
| Source Sets | Temple University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 42 pages |
| Rights | IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/2998, Theses and Dissertations |
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