Patient advocacy crucial in 2012

Doctors and medical caregivers are often faced with explaining challenging diagnoses to patients, a problem that is exacerbated when patients do not speak the same language as doctors. With more than one in five U.S. citizens speaking a language other than English at home, addressing and meeting the needs to limited-English proficient patients is reaching a critical point, says Louis F. Provenzano Jr., President and CEO of Language Line Services.
A recent article by Western Pennsylvania Hospital News stated that the percentage of non-English speakers has more than doubled, expanding by 140 percent, since 1980. As a result, patients and their families continue to confront language barriers that threaten their health. The healthcare industry is currently undergoing parid change, with expanded communication for patients and families in their native languages. Thanks to companies like Language Line Services that provide instant over-the-phone interpretation services, healthcare providers are able to reach their goals more quickly.