Lightning or Lightning Bug: The Role of the Language Gap and the Access to Proper Information on Entitlements in Cross-border Patient Mobility

Abstract:

The language barrier and the lack of reliable information were identified as major practical obstacles of European patient mobility.

Patients are highly concerned about the ability to communicate with their doctors when obtaining healthcare in a country where they do not speak the local language, as well as they find it complicated to gather all the necessary information about an unfamiliar healthcare system or about their cross-border healthcare entitlements conferred on them by the Union legislation. In a multilingual and patient-friendly European Union these issues must be tackled in order to ensure effective healthcare and to enforce patients’ right to cross-border healthcare.

This article investigates the current legal tools within the European Union on language gap in patient-provider communication and access to information on cross-border healthcare entitlements. Moreover, it offers some possible solutions for the future.