Standardizing Language Data Improves Patient Care

Patients with limited English proficiency may have more medical errors and less patient satisfaction when they do not get care in a language they can understand. That is why Ashland Community Hospital in Oregon moved towards higher quality care for their patients when they improved rates for screening preferred spoken language and preferred written language from 1.4 percent to 100 percent in a seven month period. This improvement is attributed to standardizing the collection of self-reported language data from patients during the registration process as part of their work in an AF4Q hospital effort.