Comparing Hospital Length of Stay Between Persons With LEP and English-Speaking Patients in a Large Rural Academic Medical Center.

Abstract

Patients with limited English proficiency that are hospitalized without regular access to professional medical interpreters have a longer length of stay (LOS). 1 The authors studied the difference in LOS between English-speaking patients and patients with limited English proficiency in New Hampshire's only academic trauma medical center. The authors also examined race, ethnicity, and distance of residence from hospital. Retrospective data were queried from EPIC, the electronic medical record system used by the authors. Queried data focused on inpatient hospitalizations between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2021. Patient primary language was grouped into English, Spanish, and other non-English language. Spanish-speaking patients live on average 39.6 miles farther from a hospital than English-speaking patients and have a 0.34 lower case mix index. After English, Spanish is the second-most frequently spoken language. Regression analyses found language to be a significant factor in LOS, LOS variance, and case mix index. A 2.34-day longer LOS for Spanish-speaking patients demonstrates an important health care disparity warranting further attention.