Study suggests that limited language proficiency can lead to clinical consequences.

Last April we reported on a study conducted in March at two pediatric ERs that found that mistakes which could have "clinical consequences," like giving the wrong dose of medication, were about twice as likely if there were no medical interpreters available or if the language translator was an amateur.

Now a new study suggests that doctors with less than proficient Spanish skills, and who are willing to discuss medical care with their patients in Spanish may no longer wish to do so after they are tested for fluency.

According to Reuters Health, researchers surveyed 76 pediatric residents and found 64 percent were willing to use Spanish with their patients. That number fell to 51 percent after they were evaluated on their Spanish skills — a difference due to fewer non-proficient speakers using the language after testing.

"Residents are working hard and are possibly less likely to take the extra time to get a professional interpreter," said Dr. Casey Lion, the new study's lead author and a pediatrician at the University of Washington in Seattle.

According to Lion, doctors may forego getting an interpreter because they want to build a rapport with their patient.

"That's the thing people don't want to give up. They don't want to have to speak through somebody else," she added.

But as the March study concluded, not using an interpreter may lead to serious “clinical” consequences.

Alex Dupont

See Also

• More about medical interpretation
  Effective medical interpretation helps build bridges to better health care.
• Lost in translation: Many docs attempt Spanish with patients
  But study suggests that limited language proficiency can lead to 'clinical consequences'.
• Casey Lion, MD, MPH
  Katherine Casey Lion, MD, MPH, is an attending physician in the Hospitalist program at Seattle Children?s Hospital and a Clinical Instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.