- Posted October 22, 2025
Millions Left Out as Hospital Portals Lack Multiple Language Options
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 22, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Patient portals have made it easier for millions of Americans to view test results, message their doctors and schedule virtual visits. But for the more than 25 million people in the U.S. who speak little English, these tools often remain out of reach.
A University of Michigan study published Oct. 16 in JAMA Network Open found that many hospitals offer access to their patient portal only in English, leaving many patients unable to access critical health care information or communicate with their providers online.
Researchers reviewed 511 hospitals in 17 states with large populations who speak limited English. In all, 29% of hospitals only offered English access to their patient portal, while 60% offered English and Spanish.
Only 11% of hospitals made their portals accessible in English, Spanish and at least one other language.
What's more, fewer than 5% of hospitals provided their patient portal login prompts in the most common non-English, non-Spanish language spoken in their area.
"If a patient cannot log in to the patient portal, what health care services, such as virtual visits and secure messaging with their doctor, are they missing out on and how might that impact their health?” Dr. Debbie Chen, an endocrinologist and assistant professor at the University of Michigan, said in a news release.
Hospitals with medical training programs, known as teaching hospitals, were more likely to provide multiple language options, researchers found.
Chen said part of the problem stems from the fact that many patient portals were built long before the COVID-19 pandemic, which ramped up virtual visits.
“My own experience as an endocrinologist using these tools to communicate with my patients, including those with limited English proficiency, inspired this study," she explained.
While federal rules require hospitals that receive Medicare or other federal funding to provide access to health care services for patients with limited English, Chen said these standards don’t always apply to patient portals.
The study also found that hospitals using popular software like Epic MyChart or Cerner were more likely to offer portal access in multiple languages, suggesting that hospitals can work with third parties to improve their accessibility.
“The number of people in this country who have limited English proficiency is growing," Chen added. "For many hospitals, patient portals are an important tool through which doctors provide care between appointments, so it is important that we make the portal accessible to all patients.”
More information
The National Institutes of Health has more on language barriers in health care.
SOURCE: Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan, news release, Oct. 16, 2025
