The effect of English language proficiency on length of stay and in-hospital mortality

John‐Baptiste, Ava; Naglie, Gary; Tomlinson, George; Alibhai, Shabbir M.H.; Etchells, Edward; Cheung, Angela M.; Kapral, Moira K.; Gold, Wayne L.; Abrams, Howard; Bacchus, Maria; Krahn, Murray

doi:10.1111/j.1525-1497.2004.21205.x

Cited by 284 publications

(231 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Our interpreter services data showed that the patients in our study had quite limited access to staff professional interpreters. Our findings differ somewhat from those of John-Baptiste et al, 11 who found that language barriers contributed to increased LOS for patients with cardiac and major surgical diagnoses. Our study's findings are akin to recent research suggesting that being a monolingual Spanish speaker or receiving interpreter services may not significantly impact LOS or cost of hospitalization, 23 and that LOS and in-hospital mortality do not differ for non-English speakers and English speakers after acute myocardial infarction.…”

Section: Conclusion/discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…[7][8][9][10] Few studies, however, have examined how language influences outcomes of hospital care. Compared to Englishspeakers, patients who do not speak English well may experience longer lengths of stay, 11 and have more adverse events while in the hospital. 12 However, these previous studies have not investigated outcomes immediately post-hospitalization, such as readmission rates and mortality, nor have they directly addressed the interaction between ethnicity and language.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Influence of language barriers on outcomes of hospital care for general medicine inpatients

Karliner

Kim

Meltzer

et al. 2010

Journal of Hospital Medicine

186

119

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BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined whether patients with language barriers receive worse hospital care in terms of quality or efficiency. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether patients' primary language influences hospital outcomes. DESIGN AND SETTING: Observational cohort of urban university hospital general medical admissions between July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2003. PATIENTS: Eighteen years old or older whose hospital data included information on their primary language, specifically English, Russian, Spanish or Chinese. MEASUREMENTS: Hospital costs, length of stay (LOS), and odds for 30‐day readmission or 30‐day mortality. RESULTS: Of 7023 admitted patients, 84% spoke English, 8% spoke Chinese, 4% Russian and 4% Spanish. In multivariable models, non‐English and English speakers had statistically similar total cost, LOS, and odds for mortality. However, non‐English speakers had higher adjusted odds of readmission (odds ratio [OR], 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0‐1.7). Higher odds for readmission persisted for Chinese and Spanish speakers when compared to all English speakers (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.2‐2.3 and OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.0‐2.3 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: After accounting for socioeconomic variables and comorbidities, non‐English speaking Latino and Chinese patients have higher risk for readmission. Whether language barriers produce differences in readmission or are a marker for less access to post‐hospital care remains unclear. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2010;5:276–282. © 2010 Society of Hospital Medicine.

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Section: Conclusion/discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of language barriers on outcomes of hospital care for general medicine inpatients

Karliner

Kim

Meltzer

et al. 2010

Journal of Hospital Medicine

186

119

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In addition, one study has shown that the LOS for LEP patients was longer for seven of 23 medical and surgical conditions. 15 Finally, there is evidence that high quality care takes more time. 32,33 A greater amount of clinical items can be addressed over a longer period of time, which then leads to a higher quality of care.…”

Section: Mutltivariable Analyses Of Hospital Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Five prior studies have analyzed the outcomes of LEP hospitalized patients compared to English speakers, but only two of these studies examined the impact of interpreter use with conflicting results. [12][13][14][15][16] The first study found no difference in LOS and 3-month ED utilization nor readmission rates with data from a large urban public hospital. 14 The second study found that the use of professional interpretation at admission or both admission and discharge was associated with an increased LOS and decreased readmission rates compared to those LEP patients without professional interpretation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Use of Interpreters by Physicians for Hospitalized Limited English Proficient Patients and Its Impact on Patient Outcomes

et al. 2015

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BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined the impact of inpatient interpreter use for limited English proficient (LEP) patients on length of stay (LOS), 30-day post discharge emergency department (ED) visits and 30-day hospital readmission rates for LEP patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted of all hospitalized patients admitted to the general medicine service at a large academic center. For patients self-reported as LEP, use of interpreters during each episode of hospitalization was categorized as: 1) interpreter used by non-MD (i.e., nurse); 2) interpreter used by a nonHospitalist MD; 3) interpreter used by Hospitalist; and 4) no interpreter used during hospitalization. We examined the association of English proficiency and interpreter use on outcomes utilizing Poisson and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Of 4,224 patients, 564 (13 %) were LEP. Of these LEP patients, 65.8 % never had a documented interpreter visit, 16.8 % utilized an interpreter with a non-MD, 12.6 % utilized an interpreter with a nonHospitalist MD and 4.8 % utilized an interpreter with a hospitalist present. In adjusted models, compared to English speakers, LEP patients with no interpreters had significantly shorter LOS. There were no differences in readmission rates and ED utilization between LEP and English-speaking patients. Compared to LEP patients with no interpreter use, those who had a physician use an interpreter had odds for a longer LOS, but there was no difference in odds of readmission or ED utilization. CONCLUSION: Academic hospital clinician use of interpreters remains highly variable and physicians may selectively be using interpreters for the sickest patients.KEY WORDS: limited English proficiency; interpreter use; length of stay; thirty-day readmissions.

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“…3,6,7 From an economical standpoint, it has been found that LEP patients stay in the hospital between 0.7 and 4.3 days longer than English speaking patients with similar conditions. 8 In addition non-English speaking patient have a higher 30-day readmission rate compared to their English speaking counterparts. 9 This research did not address the use of professional interpreters though and its effect on LOS or readmission.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional Language Interpretation and Inpatient Length of Stay and Readmission Rates

et al. 2012

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The effect of English language proficiency on length of stay and in-hospital mortality

Abstract: BACKGROUND:In ambulatory care settings, patients with limited English proficiency receive lower quality of care. Limited information is available describing outcomes for inpatients.

Cited by 284 publications

References 31 publications

Influence of language barriers on outcomes of hospital care for general medicine inpatients

Influence of language barriers on outcomes of hospital care for general medicine inpatients

Use of Interpreters by Physicians for Hospitalized Limited English Proficient Patients and Its Impact on Patient Outcomes

Professional Language Interpretation and Inpatient Length of Stay and Readmission Rates

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