Obtaining History with a Language Barrier in the Emergency Department: Perhaps not a Barrier After All.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Patients with limited English proficiency may be at risk for incomplete history collection, potentially a patient safety issue. While federal law requires qualified medical interpreters be provided for these patients, little is known about the quality of information obtained in these encounters. Our study compared the medical histories obtained by physicians in the emergency department (ED) based on whether the patients primarily spoke English or Spanish.

Methods

This was a prospective, observational study conducted at a single, urban, academic ED during a six-month time period. Resident and faculty physicians caring for adult patients with a chief complaint of chest or abdominal pain were eligible for participation. Patient encounters were directly observed by

SUBMITTER: Litzau M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6225939 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature