摘要：The changing demographic landscape of the United States has received growing attention among physicians and has added new dimensions to the patient-physician encounter. According to a recent survey of the American College of Physicians (ACP), nearly two-thirds of internists report having active patients with limited English proficiency (LEP); and this group comprises 12 percent of active patients in the practices of ACP member internists [1]. The median age of immigrants in the U.S. is 39.3, [2], so we can expect even more such encounters as older immigrants—who are more likely to hold onto traditional cultural beliefs—enter the U.S. health care system in greater numbers. With the need for immigration reform looming, it is therefore a good time to explore the ways in which cross-cultural interaction can transform many core values of medicine and the medical encounter.
