Languages

For breast screening exams, patients must first complete the risk assessment questionnaire, which contains detailed questions about the patient and their extended family’s history of breast and ovarian cancer and BRCAA testing. The questionnaire is available in any patient language, and the preferred patient language is saved along with answers and translated into English. The patient result and reminder letters automatically default to the chosen patient language. This language translation capability ensures that non-English speakers receive the same care as English speakers. 

According to a study by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2020, Women who only speak Spanish have a 27% less likelihood of getting a mammogram than English speakers. And Spanish speakers aren’t the only ones; women who speak limited English are less likely to receive breast cancer screening. The mammography rate of women with limited English-language proficiency was compared with English-speaking women by a research team led by Dr. Jose L. Cataneo, a general surgery resident at the University of Illinois at Chicago/Metropolitan Group Hospitals. 

“The impact of language barriers on screening mammography was previously unknown from a national database,” Cataneo said. “It is important because approximately 67 million people in the United States speak a language other than English, and 41 million of those speak Spanish.”

Tailoring the patient experience to their language is vital, and Ikonopedia removes the language barrier within our application. 

Upon request, Ikonopedia can translate any language for the risk assessment questionnaire and the patient result and reminder letters. The fourteen patient languages already available for the questionnaire and patient letters include: