Speaking Together - National Lanuguage Sevices Network

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Tools
Articles and Publications
Interpreting the Bottom Line: The Case for Language Services from the C-Suite
Addressing Language Barriers in Health Care, Asks "What's at Stake?"
Improving Quality of Health Care Relies on Effective Language Services
Journal of General Internal Medicine: Studies show importance of language services on disparities, quality of care
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health: Challenges in Language Services: Identifying and responding to patients’ needs
In Any Language: Improving the quality and availability of language services in hospitals
Patients Give Feedback on Language Services at Ten Hospitals
Patient Stories
Hospital Success Stories
Other Resources

  Patients Give Feedback on Language Services at Ten Hospitals

Patients Give Feedback on Language Services at Ten Hospitals complements the work of hospitals participating in Speaking Together through patient feedback.  The report presents the main themes that emerged from a series of focus groups made up of patients of the ten hospitals participating in the Speaking Together quality improvement collaborative.

The study found that patients are grateful for the language services that hospitals provide and that the interpreters they encounter are well-trained. The patients who participated indicated that the quality of these services contributes to an overall satisfaction with the hospital and its language services.  Patient focus groups highlighted the following results:

  • The majority of patients report positive experiences with language services.
  • Long waits are the biggest concern.
  • Hospital emergency rooms and registration areas are where problems often occur.
  • Interpreters seem overbooked, rushed.
  • Interpreters are not always gender-matched to patients according to patient preference.
  • Not enough bilingual staff.

Patients also identified opportunities for improvement and made suggestions for how problems could be addressed.

For more details, please see the full report.

   
 
  The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health ServicesRobert Wood Johnson Foundation

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