“Lost in Translation” - Informatics Challenges and Opportunities for Supporting Communication with Patients in their Preferred Language

Presentation Time: 08:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Abstract Keywords: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Health Equity, Global Health, Human-computer Interaction, Informatics Implementation, Large Language Models (LLMs), Participatory Approach/Science, Personal Health Informatics, Patient Engagement and Preferences
Working Group: Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues Working Group
Primary Track: Applications
Programmatic Theme: Public Health Informatics

Many patients prefer to receive medical care in a language other than countries' official or dominant languages. When clinicians do not speak the patients’ preferred language, this results in language discordance. Many countries have mandates for providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services, but language-discordant patients still face significantly more patient safety issues, receive poorer quality care, are less satisfied with their care, and feel that they receive less patient-centered communication. Informatics solutions can play an important role in supporting language discordant situations by supporting interpretation (spoken word), translation (written word), or other solutions. In this panel we will present a primary (proactive), secondary (real-time), tertiary (post-hoc) framework of informatics approaches to supporting issues related to language discordance. We will discuss case studies covering a vast array of approaches from pre-visit language identification to if and how machine translation may safely support patients and clinicians. We will conclude with a robust discussion regarding how the informatics field may better support this group of patients that faces severe health disparities.

Moderator:
Natalie Benda, PhD
Columbia University School of Nursing

Speaker(s):
Elaine Khoong, MD, MS
University of California San Francisco

Jorge Rodriguez, MD
Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Tyler James, Ph.D., MCHES
University of Michigan Medical School

Anne Turner, MD, MLIS, MPH, FACMI
University of Washington

Author(s):