INTERPRETER SERVICES FOR PATIENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY IN PRIMARY CARE: A PREREQUISITE FOR PROVIDING ETHICAL HEALTHCARE

Abstract

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.