摘要：Patients and physicians increasingly find they speak different languages. This is due largely to the growing number of people with limited English proficiency immigrating to the United States and seeking care from physicians, most of whom speak only English. Inadequate communication contributes heavily to disparities in health care quality, a point highlighted in the Institute of Medicine 's (IOM's) 2002 "Unequal Treatment" report [1]. It has been found that 64 percent of U.S. patients with limited English speak Spanish [2], and a case could be made that all physicians in this country should learn Spanish to minimize the disparity.
