Consultation with patients for whom English is not their native language

Abstract

Good communication with the patient is the cornerstone of effective and efficient consultation. The absence of a common language between the patient and physician negatively impacts the consultation outcome. Australia is a multicultural and multilingual country, with immigrants from all over the world. In the absence of a common language, it will be a challenging conversation affecting the patient's engagement with the healthcare system and poor treatment adherence. While involving an interpreter may help, it has its downsides and may not be ideal in all situations. Here, we discuss the experiences of various medical practitioners from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds (from Middle Eastern and Asian Countries) in managing non-English-speaking patients with a focus on the impacts of linguistic/cultural barriers in delivering optimal healthcare services and possible solutions to them.