Healthcare access for deaf patients – The legal and ethical perspectives

Deaf patients are too often overlooked in our society despite requiring in-depth attention to their specific communication needs. If they are not able to communicate with healthcare professionals, they may be unable to access and receive appropriate care. Yet, medical providers who fail to address patients’ linguistic difficulties breach their ethical and professional duties, and face potential malpractice lawsuits. This article aims to highlight the unequal access of medical care by deaf patients and the impact of language barriers. It also provides an overview of medical providers’ ethical and legal duties to assist people with hearing disabilities and discusses the benefits of using professional interpreting services and offers recommendations to address the ethical and legal issues faced by medical professionals