Quality of care involves not only good facilities, but also professional providers. In order to provide a great service to patients, it is critical to have good communication skills as well. That's what an the article by Paul M Schyve states called, "Language Differences as a Barrier to Quality and Safety in Health Care: The Joint Commission Perspective."
Originally published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, the article points to some of the reasons that might keep physicians away from effectively communicating. Three reason are below:
(1) The language barrier,
(2) Cultural differences,
(3) and the low health literacy.
When a patient has limited English and the physician, on the other hand, does not speak a second language, these three factors converge and create what we call the Triple Threat. According to Dr. Paul M. Schyve, these factors decrease the quality of healthcare of patients.
Read the full article HERE.