About 80% of physicians believed that having multi-lingual patient resources available was at least somewhat important, but 65% felt that their current available patient resources were fair, poor or non-existent, according to a poll of nearly 5,000 physicians by QuantiaMD, an online physician community.

About 81% of respondents indicated that Spanish was the most needed language for new resources.

The poll, completed in March, 2011, compiled results from members of QuantiaMD’s unique online collaborative in which 1 in 6 U.S. physicians engage, share and learn from experts and each other.

These data highlight a growing national issue as results of the 2010 US Census show that minorities compose more than one-third of the U.S. population and have represented between 81% and 89% of the population growth since 2000. About 1 out of 5 U.S. residents speak a primary language other than English at home, Census figures show.

“It is critical to the success of healthcare in the United States that patient materials be made available in multiple languages,” said Cardiologist Dr. Victor Bonilla of the University of California, Davis, in a QuantiaMD press release.

“Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the United States, making it critical to have Spanish materials available to patients. It is extremely difficult to explain a medical condition to a patient using materials that are not in their language and it can be very stressful and frightening for the patient.”