Study: Individuals with Lower English Proficiency Report Lower Patient Satisfaction

​Patients with lower English proficiency report worse ratings in two treatment issues—patient-provider communication and shared decision-making—than their counterparts who have better command of English, according to a study in the June 2018 issue of Surgery. The authors analyzed a database featuring survey responses from 13,880 patients who self-identified as a speaker of a language other than English and self-rated their level of English proficiency. Respondents then also rated the level of patient-provider communication and shared decision-making they felt they received from care providers. Across all levels of English proficiency, 71% of respondents reported optimal patient-provider communication and 84% reported optimal shared decision-making. However, as self-reported English proficiency decreased, so did the proportion of individuals reporting each measure as optimal.