Clinicians, educators, and researchers specializing in communication disorders seek to bridge the differences between the perspectives of communication-vulnerable patients and those who provide their health care services and develop health care policies that guide their care. They document policies and clinical practices that are currently being implemented to facilitate medical encounters among health care providers, communication-vulnerable patients, and family members in doctor's offices and clinics, emergency and disaster settings, acute-care and rehabilitation hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice care. Annotation ©2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)