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The Article in Brief
Medical Interpreters in Outpatient Practice
Barry D. Weiss , and colleagues
Background An estimated 62 million people in the United States speak a language other than English at home, including approximately 25 million people with limited English proficiency. This article--from medical, legal, and education professionals--reports on requirements for and benefits of providing medical interpreters in outpatient practice.
What This Study Found US medical professionals who work with patients with limited English proficiency should rely on trained medical interpreters to give them the best comprehension of what a patient is saying. Federal law requires health programs and clinicians receiving federal funds (eg, federal grants, Medicaid, or Medicare Part A) to take reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to individuals with limited English proficiency, including interpreter services. In some cases, Medicaid or other federally-funded medical insurance will cover the cost of an interpreter.
Implications
- The authors suggest that a language access plan involving professional medical interpreters will provide better health outcomes, ethical patient care, improved patient satisfaction, and reduce costly repeat visits by patients with limited understanding of their clinicians.
Correction
The author list for this paper contained a publisher error. Barb Jacob's degree was listed as "Med" and should have been "M.Ed." The online and PDF versions have since been corrected and therefore differ from the print edition.