Community pharmacist and technician communication with Spanish-speaking patients: needs assessment

To estimate the prevalence of community pharmacists and technicians who are capable of communicating with patients in Spanish and to estimate the need for Spanish language education initiatives for student pharmacists and pharmacists.

U.S. census data (2006) were used to stratify states and counties based on Hispanic population densities. Protocols were used for telephone interviews with pharmacists in randomly selected national community pharmacies.

Of 2,109 pharmacies contacted, 923 participated (43.8%) and 165 (17.9%) reported having at least one full- or part-time Spanish-speaking pharmacist employed. Slightly more than one-third (n = 328; 35.6%) of pharmacies reported having one or more full-time Spanish-speaking technicians on staff. Of respondents, 70% indicated that they would be interested in attending a live (57.8%) or Web-based (62.9%) course to learn basic Spanish terms related to health care. When asked about the need for Spanish language education in pharmacy schools, 22.0% believed that a Spanish for health professionals course should be required, while 77.0% believed the course should be offered as an elective.

Currently, a low proportion of community Spanish-speaking pharmacists and technicians are available to meet the needs of the Spanish-speaking limited English proficiency population in the United States. Pharmacy schools should offer resources to support Spanish language education initiatives. Community pharmacy administrators should provide resources to promote effective communication between pharmacists and their clientele.