Shout About Language Facility
Question: Some of our providers are bilingual or multilingual. How can I let patients and potential patients know that not knowing English may not be a barrier to care at our organization? New York Subscriber Answer: While providers or coders generally have too much on their plates (and lack the advertising expertise) to even think about marketing, practice managers can really serve their teams and communities well by pursuing targeted marketing of skills that set their providers and practice apart. Advertising the specific languages that your practice’s providers can accommodate can bring patients to your practice who may face real barriers to care in other settings. You can market your providers’ facility with language via your practice’s website, online ads, any business pages on search engines, and with signs or posters in your practice’s waiting and exam rooms. Advertising the language facility in that specific language, or specifying American Sign Language, may be key to catching speakers’ eyes — and business. Since formal interpreter services may be required but hard to set up or schedule — or earn reimbursement for — having trustworthy, in-house multilingual communication is a huge asset for both patients and providers. Rachel Dorrell, MA, MS, CPC-A, CPPM, Development Editor, AAPC 
