Patient Services

The Duke International Patient Center dedicates a specially trained patient representative to act as your main liaison with Duke Health and ensure effective communication between you and your providers. Non-English-speaking patients will be accompanied by medical escorts who help patients and Duke Health staff establish comfortable, supportive relationships that promote the best possible medical care. In addition, Duke International Patient Center also assists patients and their families with coordinating appointments, cost estimates and billing, medical visas, travel and transportation, accommodations, and an extensive orientation to the Duke Health campus and the local community. Some of our most notable medical specialties are cardiology, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, oncology (especially brain tumors), and transplant (especially heart, lung, and pediatric stem cell).

Duke Health offers on-site interpreter services in Arabic, French, and Spanish. For other languages, we use a telephone service provided by Cyracom that offers 150 languages for your convenience. Duke Health physicians are culturally diverse and fluent in many foreign languages, including Portuguese and Mandarin, to communicate directly with their patients. Duke Health will also translate letters of consent, discharge instructions, and other medical documents necessary for treatment free of charge.