Use of a bilingual medical history questionnaire in the emergency department.

Abstract

To demonstrate that a complete and rapid clinical history can be obtained using a self-administered, bilingual questionnaire. A post-test experimental design was used to evaluate time spent obtaining the history and information completeness for the two groups. Urban county emergency department. All patients were non-English-speaking Hispanic women who presented with gynecologic complaints. Fifty-five patients completed a history questionnaire in Spanish on a form that displayed their responses in English on the carbon copy. In the control group, a history was obtained using a bilingual interpreter. Average completion time was significantly less (t = 14.38; P < .0001) for the experimental group (chi 2 = 5.67 minutes; SD, 1.89) than for controls (chi 2 = 14.58 minutes; SD, 4.19). There was no statistical difference in review criteria for documentation between groups. Using a bilingual questionnaire to obtain a clinical history results in more rapid patient evaluation without affecting the quality of information obtained.