Community pharmacists' use of language-access services in the United States

Objective: To examine community pharmacists' use of language-access services (LASs) in the United States. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: United States from January to February 2009 Participants: 1,000 pharmacists (500 community chain and 500 community independent pharmacists). Intervention: Mailed survey. Main outcomes measure: Use, availability, and characterization of written translation and verbal interpretation LASs, along with perceived barriers for LASs. Results: 296 surveys were completed, yielding an adjusted response rate of 30.0%. Computer software was used more often for translation LASs (57.4%) compared with pharmacists using on-site personnel (38.4%). Almost one-half of all pharmacies (49.8%) that possessed LAS capacity failed to notify patients of their availability. Many respondents indicated that they never used translation (40.9%) or interpretation (39.8%) in their pharmacies. The most commonly cited barrier for use of LASs by community pharmacists was potential inaccuracies in translation/interpretation (52.1%). Lack of time (25.1%) was frequently cited for failing to use LASs. Conclusion: Community pharmacists are not consistently or optimally using LASs in daily practice. Failure to use LASs can result in poorer outcomes for patients with limited English proficiency. Developing means to navigate work station-related barriers to LASs may yield improved patient care. Incorporation of professional continuing educational programs, automated LAS kiosks, natural language processing, and social media solutions merit exploration in addressing these challenges.