AI for language access in surgical care: Patient preferences and an implementation framework

Language barriers contribute substantially to inequities in U.S. surgical care. Spanish-speaking patients are especially affected by communication challenges and inconsistent interpreter access during complex or time-sensitive encounters. A study led by Gezzer Ortega, MD, MPH, a physician investigator from the Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital, sought to understand how Spanish-speaking surgical patients perceive emerging interpreter technologies, specifically artificial intelligence (AI)-based interpretation and remote video interpretation (RVI), and how these modalities could be implemented in clinical practice.