Latinos Finally Have Access to Telemedicine
Added : (
Wed Oct 16 2019
)
(Detroit) – The nurse at the hospital assured Jose Aquila that if he returns tomorrow, they will have a Spanish speaking interpreter or maybe even a Latin care provider. With Spanish as the second most spoken language in the country, it’s not hard to understand Mr. Aguila’s confusion and frustration at being turned away from health care because of language.
This tale is hardly unique, almost all Latinos have similar stories. The lack of communication skills between Latino patients and care providers is only part of the issue confronting Latinos seeking healthcare around the nation. It is also the false social characterizations and the warped views that somehow these are a population not deserving of more but will do with less. Such a purview when providing care actually breeds mistrust, however well intended.
“It’s a cultural thing,” said Dr. Vince Holland, “health and maintaining good health is understood differently in Latino communities, and even though I am not familiar with their mind-sets, I know it’s to their detriment. Just look at the high rates of Diabetes.”
“These American doctors don’t know us,“ explained Mr. Aguila. “They don’t know our family’s or lifestyles or what motivates us, they don’t even know what we eat. They assume we are just like other people and I guess we are, but we are also different, we are Latinos.”
That point of view is reflected throughout the Latino community and is worn with an element of pride, albeit that its practice widens the gap of acceptance and understanding between Anglo and Latino communities. More specifically, it harms the availability of healthcare, because it limits access to only Latino physicians.
That’s where telemedicine provides access to Spanish speaking doctors who generally emanate from a Latin country. Finally, the barriers of communications are destroyed, and a sense of sacredness rather than resentment and uncertainty ensues between the doctor and the patient. Video consults only enhance the meaningfulness of the consult.
Latinos Finally Have Access to Telemedicine
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