A technology-mediated solution to reduce healthcare disparities.

Abstract

As healthcare costs in the USA continue to rise exponentially, it becomes a strategic imperative for healthcare organizations to examine all areas of their healthcare delivery and identify those which are currently inefficient and ineffective and then work to design and develop solutions that provide superior healthcare and that support a healthcare value proposition of excellence in access quality and value. Moreover, given the current emphasis on identifying meaningful use of technology in healthcare in the USA, it becomes prudent to develop appropriate technology solutions that not only comply with this requirement but also facilitate superior healthcare delivery to ensue. One area within healthcare delivery that this is particularly relevant and germane is when we look at healthcare disparities that currently exist. One key area within healthcare disparities relates to access to language services in healthcare or more specifically supporting limited English-proficient patients (LEP patients). This chapter discusses how the development of a real time online technology-mediated solution to support LEP patients can address key effectiveness and efficiency issues and provide superior healthcare and thereby serve to reduce a key healthcare disparity.