Seeking Understanding: Proposal for Technology as a Partial Solution to the Use of Spanish Lexical Variants in the English Medical Setting

Physician-patient communication, essential to achieving good health outcomes, can become complicated when a native language is not shared, as is the case for many Latino patients in the United States. This communication is then enriched, but also hindered, by the diverse Latino dialects that arise in the discourse. Thus, it is imperative that providers have access to resources that promote effective communication. Until recently most medical Spanish resources have focused mainly on standard language, ignoring the use of dialect and lexical variants. This paper will briefly discuss lexical variants in the medical setting along with the challenges introduced when including them in reference materials. Then, some of the medical professionals’ needs regarding reference resources will be presented, followed by a few weaknesses inherent in those currently in use. Finally, a proposal will be offered for a system that takes these needs into consideration and seeks to facilitate the medical discourse.