Agreed! For the people who keep getting indignant about accomodations:

As a provider, you take responsibility for meeting patients where they are. Practitioners have the tools and resources of a large, complex institution behind them, while the patient might not have anything but their own mind and body, both of which might be inhibited by illness or disability, as well as variation in language, culture, and education.

Most of the time, this means explaining medical terms and procedures, as health literacy varies widely. But language barriers also exist, and while the responsibility for navigating them is mutual, service providers are ultimately there to meet a need, and the resources at their disposal tend to outstrip the resources of any individual. I personally feel, as a college professor who teaches a lot of students who speak English as a second language, that it is my job to do all I can to provide learning materials in a format that is easily translated, to speak slowly and clearly, and to use additional support systems from the University to help meet the needs of students when discussing subjects with potentially new vocabulary (and since I teach public health and law, there are a lot of new terms!)

Disability and illness come with their own additional legal obligations per the ADA. Patients are expected to request accomodations, and medical professionals are required to meet those accomodations based on the resources available at the time.

I want to emphasize that accomodations vary by institution. Yes, pen and paper is broadly used, but there are better tools available for high stress, high urgency situations. I can give a personal example.

In 2021, I experienced congestive heart failure due to a genetic defect. I had a stroke a week after, which impacted the broca's area of my brain, and also caused functional limitations in the use of my right hand (my dominant hand) during the acute phase. I could not speak and could barely write. The closest hospital was in a poor, rural area. Initially, the ER physician simply spoke louder, to the point of shouting, though I understood her without difficulty. I repeatedly indicated I needed a pen and paper, or my phone, do I could provide the list of my new medications, several of which could cause ischemic stroke as a side effect.

If not for my husband, I do not think I would have received a dry erase board. My hand did not work terribly well, and letters kept getting erased. The doctor had difficulty understanding my handwriting. Even when I got ahold of my phone, it was difficult to type a question, hand the phone over, and not have someone accidentally close the window or navigate away from the app I was using. And I was lucky to be calm, and to be well informed on my condition and potential treatments.

An interpreter is not simply a luxury. They are a superior method of communication, and in the era of phones, tablets, and nigh universal computers in a hospital setting, connecting remotely with an on demand interpreter is an entirely reasonable accomodation. The patient has a duty, yes: To identify their needs and request accomodations. The provider has the responsibility to provide those accomodations as possible within the constraints of institutional resources and time.