Harnessing health information technology to promote equitable care for patients with limited English proficiency and complex care needs

作者：Inna Strechen, Patrick M. Wilson, Targ Eltalhi, Kimberly Piche, Daniel Tschida-Reuter, Diane Marie Howard, Bruce Sutor, Ing Tiong, Svetlana Herasevich, Brian W. Pickering, Amelia K. Barwise · 发表于：Trials · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1186/s13063-024-08254-y · 被引用次数：10 · 研究领域：Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare、Cultural Competency in Health Care、Electronic Health Records Systems

BACKGROUND: Patients with language barriers encounter healthcare disparities, which may be alleviated by leveraging interpreter skills to reduce cultural, language, and literacy barriers through improved bidirectional communication. Evidence supports the use of in-person interpreters, especially for interactions involving patients with complex care needs. Unfortunately, due to interpreter shortages and clinician underuse of interpreters, patients with language barriers frequently do not get the language services they need or are entitled to. Health information technologies (HIT), including artificial intelligence (AI), have the potential to streamline processes, prompt clinicians to utilize in-person interpreters, and support prioritization. METHODS: From May 1, 2023, to June 21, 2024, a single-center stepped wedge cluster randomized trial will be conducted within 35 units of Saint Marys Hospital & Methodist Hospital at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The units include medical, surgical, trauma, and mixed ICUs and hospital floors that admit acute medical and surgical care patients as well as the emergency department (ED). The transitions between study phases will be initiated at 60-day intervals resulting in a 12-month study period. Units in the control group will receive standard care and rely on clinician initiative to request interpreter services. In the intervention group, the study team will generate a daily list of adult inpatients with language barriers, order the...