“Complete and Accurate, and Warmhearted Too”: Telemedicine Experiences and Care Needs of Mandarin-Speaking Patients with Limited English Proficiency

Background

Despite greater care needs, patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) are less likely to use telemedicine. Given the expansion of telemedicine since the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying ways to narrow the telemedicine care gaps experienced by people with LEP is essential.

Objective

Examine the telemedicine experiences of Mandarin-speaking adults with LEP, with a focus on perceived differences between in-person care, video, and telephone telemedicine.

Participants

Random sample of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) members who completed at least one primary care telemedicine visit in August 2021, aged 40 years or older, and had electronic health record-documented need for a Mandarin interpreter. The sample was stratified by telemedicine visit type (video or phone).

Approach

Semi-structured Mandarin-language telephone interviews with a bilingual and bicultural research assistant collected patient experiences with telemedicine in general and telemedicine visits assisted by interpreters. Two coders used rapid qualitative analytic techniques to capture themes.

Key Results

Among 20 respondents (n = 12, 60% women) age 41–81, all had prior experience with telephone visits and 17 (85%) had experience with video visits. Patients reported three major themes: (1) communication, language skills, and how patience impacts care quality; (2) the importance of matching patient preferences on communication modality; and (3) the need for comprehensive language services throughout the continuum of healthcare delivery.

Conclusion

Mandarin-speaking adults with LEP see telemedicine as a convenient and necessary service. Issues with healthcare providers’ and interpreters’ communication skills and impatience were common. The lack of wrap-around language-concordant care beyond the visit itself was cited as an ongoing and unaddressed care barrier. Healthcare provider and interpreter training is important, as is availability of personalized and comprehensive language services in promoting patient autonomy, alleviating the burden on patients’ families, and thus ensuring equitable healthcare access.