Language Line Focus Group Was Held Monday May 22, 2017.Under

The purpose of this quality improvement study was to evaluate nurses’ perceptions on the use of communication boards for non-English speaking patients, primarily Spanish and Russian speaking patients.

According to the 2011 U.S. Census, twenty-one percent of the population speaks other language at home besides English. Hence, one of the biggest challenges in Healthcare is the language barrier between the providers, Health care administrators and patients that speak foreign languages. This poses a challenge for medical entities,

In the state of Massachusetts the state law states that the emergency department patients with limited English proficiency have the right to a medical interpreter (Ginde, Clark, & Camargo, 2009). Having a medical interpreter for patients that have limited English proficiency will increase the quality of health care they receive; it also increases patient compliance and increases patient satisfaction. The use of professional interpreters is shown to decrease revisiting the emergency department, and increase this population’s use of outpatient clinics for follow up care (Ginde et al., 2009).

For example; If a patient does not speak the language of which country they are in, interpreters or translators may be needed in order to help communicate with people from the local area. These are important to keep the person informed about what is happening and what is going to happen. Supporting individuals to express their needs and

Language Barrier: Communication can be difficult if English is not the resident’s first language. Highfield Healthcare should look at employing bilingual staff to overcome this problem.

We have to ensure that all our physicians and care team are only using “qualified” interpreters instead of untrained family members and friends, minor children and bilingual staff. We also have to ensure that everyone is documenting.

Insuring that the patient fully understands what is being done to them is of great importance. As patients, they have the right to understand what is being done and why. Informed consent must be given; the patient should be able to repeat what they have been informed of before the procedure is done. Currently “only 33 percent of U.S. hospitals have quality improvement efforts underway to improve the quality of their language access programs.” (Armand and Hubbard, 2010). The goal of the interpreter is to assure that the LEP patient has no doubts or concerns and totally understands what is going to happen, why, and any options they may have.

Medical interpreting is more complex compared to the other interpreting area. “The interpreter may interpret for life-changing events including birth, the diagnosis of serious illnesses, and end-of-life care. In this highly personal setting, emotions can be charged; time can be of the essence; and patients may be experiencing pain, anxiety, or grief” (Gertz, 504); time is essence when interpreting for patients in emergency care. Interpreters would have to be fast and be able to interpret accurately in order to give correct informations to doctors, nurse, etc. Qualifications for medical Deaf interpreters

Medical professionals should be banned from using biased interpreters for patients that have limited to no English proficiency. One of the most important things to have in the medical field, is a good relationship and good communication between the doctor and patient. People of all languages and cultures live in the United States, and they also must all see a doctor. There are major communication issues between doctors and patients with limited to no English proficiency. Doctors must be able to know and communicate with their patients. Patients must be able to know and understand their medical diagnosis and what treatment options are available, but that is not always possible. This issue brings in interpreters. There are many cases where interpreters should have been used but weren’t, ways to develop a strategy in practices for interpreters, and boundaries when using interpreters in the medical field.

For example, at the Reading Hospital here locally in Berks County, staff members have an onsite interpreter throughout the hospital that can come and translate as care is being delivered. They also have on the phone interpreting services which can be used anytime to facilitate care. With those services, current diabetic home care managements are discussed which includes diet regimes and pharmacological interventions that may have already been prescribed. An open environment for the patients to ask questions is promoted. As questions are asked, caregivers are aiming that the patient level of understanding is also promoted with the answers that they

Effective communication is important in providing safe health care. Miscommunication can lead to many errors, which can inadvertently affect compliance, accurate diagnosis, and health promotion. There are a variety of translation services offered in the United States; however,

However collaboration between a professional interpreter and a family member can be beneficial when dealing with the older person. This is because family member can assist in the provision of physician-to-patient information after the conclusion of the encounter (Rosenberg, Seller & Leanza 2008).

Circumstances such as Mrs. Odundo’s are not anything new for doctors, especially in cities with a huge immigrant inflow. The rift in communication between Mrs. Odundo and Dr. Martinez is not just of language but of culture as well. Many factors must be respected when it comes to patients with cultural and language backgrounds different from that of the western norm. Firstly, in combating language impediment, the impact of interpreter services must be assessed. Studies have shown that language impaired patients that denied interpreter services did not completely understand their diseases and treatment plans, and wished to have had better explanations from their health care providers [2]. In addition, calling for an interpreter also respects patient autonomy in the sense that the physician is hearing the decisions of the patients without the use of a

One night in 1981, Jeff Munks, a police office in San Jose, CA responded to an urgent call and arrived at a residence where a Vietnamese immigrant who spoke no English was screaming and waving his arms agitatedly. Next to him, his son was having trouble breathing. After Jeff guessed what had been happening and immediately called for an ambulance, he kept thinking about emergency situations where danger is exacerbated because of a language barrier. This resulted in Telephone Interpretation being offered since that year. This service connects trained interpreters via telephone to Limited English Proficient (LEP) Individuals. Cyracom International is one of those companies that provide critical

During the study, Davidson said that the scarcity of time become the factor of the patient in medical interview. It is because the patients who used interpreter often were left alone for sometimes an hour while they waited for the interpreter to arrive (Baker, 2010 p.160). Moreover, Davidson said that the interpreters are possibly conducted the interview with the patient before the physician arrived (Baker, 2010 p.160). They took a charge of physician’s position by asking questions the patient about the illness before they convey it to the physician. This affects the process of elaborating a Chief Complaint from patient which becomes shorter. Besides, the interpreters also would occasionally go so far as to conduct the initial portions of the interviews itself. According to Davidson in Baker (2010, p.164) the interferences of interpreter in medical interview create harms for the physician. For instance, in