Finding a doctor who speaks your language is more than a convenience — it is a meaningful part of good care. For Bethesda’s large and growing Spanish-speaking community, seeing a physician who can discuss symptoms, treatment options, and follow-up instructions directly in Spanish reduces the risk of miscommunication and makes it far easier to stay on top of preventive care and chronic conditions.

The good news: Bethesda and the surrounding Montgomery County area have a deep bench of bilingual (English/Spanish) physicians, practicing across major health systems and every model of care. Below is our curated, regularly updated list, organized by specialty. We will keep adding profiles as we verify more Spanish-speaking providers.

¿Prefiere leer en español? Esta guía también está disponible en español: Médicos Hispanos que Hablan Español en Bethesda.

Why language-concordant care matters

Studies of “language-concordant” care — when patient and physician share a language — consistently find better outcomes: patients understand their diagnoses more clearly, follow treatment plans more reliably, ask more questions, and report higher satisfaction. Federal health agencies treat language access as part of safe, equitable care: the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health sets National CLAS Standards for language-appropriate services, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ties limited-English communication to a higher risk of medical error. For conditions that depend on day-to-day self-management, like diabetes and thyroid disease or high blood pressure, that clarity can directly affect your health — the kind of disparity the NIH’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities studies directly. Choosing a Spanish-speaking doctor is one practical way to remove a barrier between you and the care you need.

Hispanic and Latino doctors, not just Spanish speakers

Speaking Spanish and being Hispanic are not the same thing, and for many families the second matters as much as the first. A number of the physicians below are themselves of Hispanic or Latin American heritage, which means they bring cultural familiarity — with food, family dynamics, faith, and the way symptoms are described at home — alongside the language. Several trained in Latin America before practicing here: Dr. Jose A. Quiros earned his medical degree at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru, the oldest university in the Americas, while Dr. Maria Portela Martinez is a native of Puerto Rico who has served on the executive board of the National Hispanic Medical Association and led primary-care access initiatives at the federal level. In pediatrics, Dr. Antonio E. Cornier is also originally from Puerto Rico and has spent decades caring for Silver Spring’s Latino families.

That shared background can lower the everyday friction of a visit — you spend less time translating idioms and more time on your health. It is one reason the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health frames culturally and linguistically appropriate services (the National CLAS Standards) as a pair, not two separate goals.

Spanish-speaking primary care & internal medicine in Bethesda

Primary care is where a bilingual relationship pays off most, because this is the doctor who coordinates your preventive care, manages chronic conditions, and refers you to specialists. (New to choosing a primary care doctor? Start with our guide on how to choose a primary care doctor in Bethesda.)

  • Dr. Maria Julieta Uthurralt, MD — a bilingual internist at MedStar Medical Group at Bethesda and one of the area’s most highly rated primary-care physicians, offering full-range adult care.
  • Dr. Jose A. Quiros, MD — a board-certified internist with more than four decades of experience, providing adult primary care in Bethesda and affiliated with George Washington University Hospital.
  • Dr. Mi Na Son, MD — a Johns Hopkins internist in downtown Bethesda with a lifestyle-medicine orientation and multilingual care, well suited to patients who want unhurried, clear visits.

Spanish-speaking family medicine

Family physicians care for the whole family, from children to grandparents — a natural fit for multigenerational, Spanish-speaking households.

  • Dr. Maria Portela Martinez, MD, MPH — a board-certified family physician and GW leader in primary care, caring for all ages in English and Spanish with a deep commitment to access and health equity.
  • Dr. Christina Council, MD, MPH — a board-certified family physician at One Medical in nearby North Bethesda, caring for all ages with a public-health background and a focus on patient education.
  • Dr. Iliana Neumann, MD — a Spanish-speaking family physician at CloseKnit in Chevy Chase with an additional fellowship year in obstetrics, so a family can stay with one doctor from prenatal care through the children’s checkups. Virtual and in-person visits.
  • Dr. Eugene Miknowski, MD, FACR — a Georgetown-trained internist and rheumatologist in Chevy Chase who consults in Spanish and Russian, with four decades of Washington-area practice behind him.

Spanish-speaking pediatrics

For children’s care, being able to talk with parents in their own language about development, immunizations, and everyday worries matters as much as the medicine itself. Silver Spring — home to much of the area’s Latino community — has bilingual pediatricians who see children from newborns through the teenage years. (Choosing a pediatrician? Start with our guide on choosing a pediatrician in Montgomery County.)

  • Dr. Antonio E. Cornier, MD — a board-certified, bilingual pediatrician at Spring Pediatrics in Silver Spring. Originally from Puerto Rico, he brings decades of experience to newborn care, well-child visits, and everyday childhood illness, and connects directly with Spanish-speaking families.
  • Dr. Robert C. DaRosso, MD — a board-certified pediatrician at Spring Pediatrics who speaks English, Italian, and Spanish, with more than two decades directing inpatient pediatric care in New York and a background in pediatric hematology-oncology — a reassuring choice for both routine care and more complex needs.

Concierge & membership medicine

If you value longer, unhurried visits and same- or next-day access, the area also has a bilingual concierge option. (Deciding whether membership care is right for you? See is concierge medicine in Bethesda worth it?)

  • Dr. Daphne Stamos Keshishian, MD — a concierge MDVIP internist in Bethesda with 20+ years of experience, blending preventive and integrative medicine, women’s health, and nutrition. Note that concierge practices charge an annual membership fee in addition to insurance.

Spanish-speaking specialists near Bethesda

Bilingual care is not limited to primary care. The greater Bethesda area is home to Spanish-speaking specialists as well.

Nearby Spanish-speaking primary care

Just up the Rockville Pike corridor, another bilingual option is worth knowing:

  • Dr. Matthew Razavian, DO — a DC-area native and osteopathic internist at Quality Primary Care Associates in Rockville, focused on prevention, chronic disease management, and patient-led decisions, with video visits available.

How to choose

Once you have a shortlist, the same fundamentals apply as for any doctor: confirm board certification, check that they participate in your insurance plan, verify they are accepting new patients, and make sure the location and hours fit your life. Reviewing each doctor’s full profile — credentials, hospital affiliations, and verified patient ratings — will help you compare candidates side by side.

To browse more options, see our full primary care directory, our pediatrics directory, and our Bethesda doctors page. And if Spanish is your first language, read this guide in Spanish: Médicos Hispanos que Hablan Español en Bethesda.

We update this guide as we verify more Spanish-speaking doctors across Bethesda and Montgomery County. If you are a bilingual provider who should be included, or a patient with a recommendation, we would love to hear about it.