Language disparities in patients transported by emergency medical services

摘要

Background: The population of the United States continues to diversify with an increasing percentage of residents with limited English proficiency (LEP). A major concern facing emergency medical services (EMS) providers is increasing scene and transport times. We hypothesized that there would be a significant difference in EMS scene and transport times when comparing LEP and English-speaking (ES) patients and there would be a difference in care, both in and out of hospital.