H. Giovanni Antunez, MD, MPH, DrPH, Tulane Hispanic Health Initiative, Tulane Center for Clinical Effectiveness, Tulane University, 1430 Tulane Ave TW - 38, New Orleans, LA 70112, 504-585-6041, hantune@tulane.edu, William C. Steinmann, MD, MSc, Center for Clinical Effectiveness and Prevention (TCCEP), Tulane University Health Sciences Center, 1430 Tulane Avenue, TW38, New Orleans, LA 70112, and Juan Escarfuller, MD, Center for Clinical Effectiveness and Prevention (TCCEP), Tulane Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana., 1430 Tulane Avenue, TW38, New Orleans, LA 70112.

Due to the health care needs of the growing numbers of Latinos in Louisiana, we assessed the Latino physicians’ offices availability of Spanish speaking health care services for Latino clients. METHODS: Using the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME), and the Hispanic-American Medical Association of Louisiana (HAMAL) directories; and searching by Latino surname, 301 physicians that seemed Latino were identified. Phone calls were made to all, 250 were confirmed to be Latino, spoke Spanish; and all responded to a brief survey assessing their demographics, type of practice, availability of Spanish speaking personnel and Spanish-based patient’s educational resources in their offices. RESULTS: In terms of gender, 86% of Latino physicians in Louisiana are men. Office location: 61% have their offices in metro New Orleans. Type of practice: 72% are generalists; 18% specialists; 2.4% surgical specialists; 2.8% neurologists; and 1.2% psychiatrists. Availability of office personnel that speak Spanish: 44% have nurses, 20% interpreters, 8% receptionists; 13.6% do not have that personnel and 14.8% did not answer the question. Availability of educational resources in Spanish: 64% reported not to have these resources; 11.6% reported to have these educational resources on site; 10% obtained these resources online; and 15% did not answer the question. CONCLUSION: There is a relatively low availability of Spanish speaking personnel in the offices of Latino physicians in Louisiana. The lack of patient’s educational resources in Spanish is a major barrier that needs to be addressed in order to meet the health care needs of Latinos in the area.

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