Chapter 4: Language and Power in Healthcare: Towards a Theory of Language Barriers Among Linguistic Minorities in the United States

Language barriers in healthcare constitute a serious public health threat for Latino and other linguistic minority populations in the United States. Language barriers affect over an estimated 22 million patients within the U.S. healthcare delivery system each year. The consequences of language discordance between patients and providers include misunderstanding of patient concerns, missed diagnoses, costly and unnecessary medical tests, and potentially serious medical error(s). Language barriers can also be linked to poor patient compliance, follow up, and satisfaction (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2003, p. 141).

The miscommunication arising from language barriers in healthcare often times unleashes catastrophic chains of events. In one case, recited in Flores (2006),