• Jessica Himmelstein, Christopher Cai, David U Himmelstein, Steffie Woolhandler, David H Bor, Samuel L Dickman, and Danny McCormick.
• Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge, MA, USA. jhimmelstein@challiance.org.
• J Gen Intern Med. 2022 Dec 1; 37 (16): 413041364130-4136.

BackgroundPeople with limited English proficiency (LEP) face greater barriers to accessing medical care than those who are English proficient (EP). Language-related differences in the use of outpatient care across the full spectrum of physician specialties have not been studied.ObjectiveTo compare outpatient visit rates to physicians in 28 specialties by people with LEP vs EP.DesignMultivariable negative binomial regression analysis of nationally representative data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (pooled 2013-2018) with adjustment for age, sex, and self-reported health status.Participants149,611 survey respondents aged 18 and older.ExposureLEP, defined as taking the survey in a language other than English.Main MeasuresAnnual per capita adjusted visit rate ratios (ARRs) comparing visit rates by LEP and EP persons to individual specialties, and to three categories of specialties: (1) primary care (internal or family medicine, geriatrics, general practice, or obstetrics/gynecology), (2) medical-subspecialties, or (3) surgical specialties.Key ResultsPatients with LEP were underrepresented in 26 of 28 specialties. Disparities were particularly large for the following: pulmonology (ARR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.20-0.35), orthopedics (ARR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.30-0.40), otolaryngology (ARR, 0.40; 95% CI, 0.27-0.59), and psychiatry (ARR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.32-0.58). Among individuals with several specific common chronic conditions, LEP-EP disparities in visits to specialties in those conditions generally persisted. Disparities were larger for medical subspecialties (ARR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.36-0.46) and surgical specialties (ARR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.42-0.50) than for primary care (ARR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.79).ConclusionsPatients with LEP are underrepresented in most outpatient specialty practices, particularly medical subspecialties and surgical specialties. Our findings highlight the need to remove language barriers to physician services in order to ensure access to the full spectrum of outpatient specialty care for people with LEP.© 2022. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Society of General Internal Medicine.

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