"Language barriers and patient safety in supportive care: Two case reports bridging system-level gaps"

Patients with non-English language preference (NELP) face significant barriers to safe and effective communication in palliative and supportive care. These barriers compromise quality, delay care, and heighten the risk of unmet psychosocial needs, particularly when compounded by health literacy concerns and limited access to translated resources.

We describe two Spanish-speaking patients with advanced cancer whose inpatient and outpatient supportive care was complicated by language barriers, leading to communication gaps, including symptom misinterpretation and inadequate family discharge education. These factors contributed to significant distress and safety risks.

Interdisciplinary interventions, including professional interpreter use, bilingual supportive care psychology, teach-back education, medication relabeling in Spanish, and culturally tailored communication, helped restore trust, alleviate suffering, and align care with patient and family values. In one case, a lack of validated Spanish versions of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System within the electronic medical record (EMR) hindered symptom self-reporting and safety. Following multiple requests, the EMR team initiated development of a Spanish-language template to facilitate future integration.

Structural gaps in language accessibility compound distress, reduce autonomy, and threaten safety. These cases underscore that interpreter services alone are insufficient. Integrating validated multilingual tools into EMRs, standardizing translated discharge instructions, and expanding access to in-person interpreters are critical steps toward equitable care. Institutionalizing linguistically responsive systems is essential for ensuring safety, equity, and dignity in palliative care for patients with NELP.