您現在的位置: > Language Tips > Audio & Video > Normal Speed News  
     





     
    Language barriers impact health care
    [ 2006-08-04 08:57 ]

    Many immigrants to the United States may be getting inadequate medical care because of language barriers between patients and medical professionals. But some health facilities are working to add more multilingual staff and reduce errors based on miscommunication.

    More than 22 million people who live in the United States don't speak or understand English very well. And that can be deadly. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Glenn Flores highlights some cases where language barriers prevented patients from communicating with health care providers -- with serious consequences.

    Flores recalls one incident in which English-speaking paramedics thought a Spanish-speaking man was suffering from a drug overdose. "He was in the hospital basically for two days being worked up for drug abuse," Flores says. "They finally did a head C-T scan and realized he had had a major bleed into his brain, probably originating from the rupture of an artery in his brain. He ended up being quadriplegic and he got a $71 million settlement award from the hospital."

    Flores, a professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin says that despite examples like that, the majority of U.S. health care facilities still do not have trained interpreters on site. But he acknowledges that increasing numbers of health care workers are bilingual, and that more clinics and hospitals do make sure their staff and patients understand each other.

    The Tinno families get into the waiting room at the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Some 40%, or about 7000 of the patients who were seen there last year spoke little or no English. Fortunately for them, of the 30 doctors and nurses at the clinic, 28 also speak Spanish.

    After greeting several members of the Caseas family,doctor Ricas examines their young daughter Gabrielle. Doctor Ricas says being able to speak to Mrs. Caseas in her native Spanish means he can discuss Gabrielle's condition - and treatment - in much greater depth. "It's always good to ask a few extra questions," he explains, "like why this is important for you and what have you heard and what do other people say about this? Sometimes that helps you understand what their real concerns are. But it's difficult to get into that detail if you don't speak the language."

    The Sixteenth Street Clinic is expanding. So its directors are in the process of hiring more staff who are bilingual now, or who commit to learning Spanish. Clinic vice-president, Dr. Julie Schuller, says new hires are told that by speaking to patients in their own language, they can provide the highest quality care. "By providing high quality care, we are avoiding errors, we are avoiding malpractice suits," she says. "The main focus for us is the high quality. What [follows] from that [i.e. avoiding errors] is important too, but we're focused on providing the best quality we can provide."

    Schuller says it's frustrating to go into medical facilities and see patients who are not being understood. So she urges other hospitals and clinics to look into adding interpreters to their staff, or at least to make use of translator hotlines that can be called day or night.

    But Dana Richardson of the Wisconsin Hospital Association says many facilities are worried about the additional cost. "What we have seen in the state of Wisconsin overall is an increasing number of minority-ethnic groups coming in, and so it's becoming a greater cost for the health community to provide these services." Richardson says translator hotlines can cost at least $50 per hour. She says while hospitals recognize the value of having a multi-lingual flexibility, most simply cannot afford it.

    The author of the language barrier study, Glenn Flores, suggests that U.S. medical schools could require their students to take medical Spanish, Chinese or other appropriate language. But for now, the number of immigrants is outpacing the health care industry's ability to provide adequate care in a language they can understand.

    Vocabulary:              

    quadriplegic : 四肢癱瘓的


    (來源:VOA  英語點津姍姍編輯


     

     
     

     

     

     
     

    48小時內最熱門

         

    本頻道最新推薦

         
      Fulbright exchange program turns 60
      Experience:the first American space walk
      Bird flu renews fear among Thai tour operators
      靜謐憂傷:A place nearby
      Japan imports U.S. beef again






    久久久久久久久无码精品亚洲日韩 | 无码 免费 国产在线观看91| 大地资源中文第三页| 久久国产精品无码一区二区三区| 欧美日韩中文在线| 日韩经典精品无码一区| 无码一区二区三区老色鬼| 日韩乱码人妻无码中文字幕| 国产精品无码久久久久久| 毛片免费全部播放无码| 狠狠躁天天躁无码中文字幕| 久久午夜无码鲁丝片午夜精品| 亚洲AV无码专区国产乱码4SE| 久久伊人中文无码| 亚洲中文字幕无码一区| 国模吧无码一区二区三区| 无码精品A∨在线观看| 久久AV高潮AV无码AV| 最好看的电影2019中文字幕| 7777久久亚洲中文字幕| 亚洲中文字幕无码久久2017| 国产午夜无码专区喷水| 无码av免费网站| 无码专区永久免费AV网站| 中文无码熟妇人妻AV在线| 日韩中文在线视频| 中文字幕亚洲欧美专区| 无码的免费不卡毛片视频| AAA级久久久精品无码区| 久久久无码人妻精品无码| 无码国产伦一区二区三区视频| 自拍偷在线精品自拍偷无码专区| 日韩a级无码免费视频| 中文字幕无码一区二区三区本日 | 欧美日韩久久中文字幕| 久久久久无码专区亚洲av| 精品人妻系列无码人妻免费视频| 99精品人妻无码专区在线视频区| 99精品一区二区三区无码吞精| 国产成人无码精品久久久免费| 久久无码av三级|