Language discordance and patient care—Babel (16 September 2024)

Summary

This article in JAMA Internal Medicine looks at the impact of language barriers on healthcare safety and quality in the US. Research shows that language discordance between patients and healthcare professionals worsens health outcomes, especially when there are no available, affordable and adequate interpreter services. The article describes the case of a mother who tried to raise concerns about her newborn baby's breathing and had her concerns dismissed, likely because she was unable to speak English and therefore could not communicate sufficiently with midwives and doctors. The author, Tamara Huson, a doctor in Ohio, describes how she had to convince the NICU unit to take the baby in for observation. On arrival at NICU, the baby's condition quickly deteriorated and she was intubated to save her life. This near miss illustrates the impact of language discordance, and the author argues that statutory requirements for translation service in the US are not being fulfilled by healthcare providers which receive Medicare and Medicaid funding.