Language Concordance as a Determinant of Patient Outcomes in a Pharmacist-Managed Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Clinic

Abstract

Background: Published literature reveals that health care disparities exist due to race, gender, and language, although this has not been confirmed in a pharmacist-managed patient population. Objective: The objective of this study is to examine the association of language concordance and clinical outcomes in a comparison of English-speaking (ES) and Spanish-speaking (SS) patients in a pharmacist-managed cardiovascular risk reduction clinic (CVRRC). Methods: A retrospective chart review was undertaken to collect hemoglobin A1C, blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) for patients enrolled in the CVRRC from July 2010 and August 2012. A 2-sample t-test was utilized to compare these outcomes between ES and SS patients. Results: A total of 9 SS patients and 62 ES patients were included. No statistically significant differences were found between ES and SS patients in this language-concordant, pharmacist-managed clinic setting. Conclusions: These results suggest that similar clinical outcomes between ES and SS patients may be achieved with the ability of pharmacists to speak the same language as their patients.