Over-the-Phone Interpreters Help Non-English-Speaking Patients Receive Better Care | Voice of America - English
Going to the doctor can make many people nervous. But when patients cannot communicate with their health care providers because they don't speak the same language, the situation is not only stressful and frustrating, it becomes potentially life-threatening.
For more than a quarter of a century, Language Line Services, LLS, hasprovided trained interpreters to help doctors and caregivers communicate withnon-English-speaking patients. Company president Louis Provenzano says thedemand for interpreting services is on the rise. "Every19 seconds, another immigrant comes into the United States," he says."According to our census, the U.S. census data, there is almost 23 millionpeople in the country that are called 'limited-English proficient,' which meansthat they don't speak English well or don't speak English at all. There arealmost 176 languages spoken in the United States today." Communicatingwith clients whose first language is not English, Provenzano says, is an issuefor all service-oriented institutions. And in hospitals, he adds, the languagebarrier can pose a serious challenge. "A typical urban hospital, they may treat patients who speak 40 to 60different language," he says. "So it's almost impossible for staffinternally to meet those interpreting needs. Some hospitals provideprofessional interpreters or just rely on a family member or even a janitorialstaff. Butbecause their knowledge of medical terminology is not been verified by anyregulating authority, the quality of communication can differ traumaticallyand, in the case of diagnosis and treatment decisions, it could have a tragicconsequences." To make it easier for the health care industry to find professionalinterpreters who understand the technical jargon, LLS recently launched theInternational Registry of Certified Medical Interpreters. "It'sthe first industry resource of its kind to give health care organizations afree online resource for identifying those professionals, medical interpreters,and reviewing their language skills and credentials," Provenzano says. Certified Spanish interpreter Susan Avila provides over-the-phone medicaltranslations. For almost 10 years, she says, she has facilitated communicationin a wide variety of cases. "Itcould be anywhere from a little child getting his shots updated to somethingvery elaborate, as the explanation of a surgery," says Avila. "Ormaybe we have a psychological evaluation on a patient, and we have to be verycareful. Perhaps, we'll be in a delivery room where a mother is havingcontractions, and we have to calm her down and give her the instructions on howshe is supposed to breath." Avilaalso trains other Spanish interpreters. She says becoming a certified medicalinterpreter requires more than just fluency in a language. "Inorder to receive medical calls, you have to meet very high standards," shesays. "You have to pass an exam after you have gone through the training.We are also provided with medical, with glossaries. We visit Internet linksthat have a lot of info. "Andthen, we are constantly evaluated. We are supervised to see that we areadhering to the terminology, to the protocol that we're managing thechallenging situations the way we're supposed to manage them." Linguistic skills and knowledge of medical terminology is just onecomponent of what it takes to be a professional medical interpreter. Otheraspects, Avila adds, include an understanding of different cultural backgroundsand the ability to deal with tough situations. "Wecan soften our tone a little bit to give bad news, which we have to give manytimes," Avila says. "I always tell interpreters our voice is ourbiggest tool. It has to convey compassion. It has to convey kindness. It has totell the patient, 'We're here to help you.' We have to hug them, let's say,over the phone." Accordingto LLS President Louis Provenzano, regulating medical interpreting services isessential to improving the health care system and ensuring equal opportunityfor all patients. "Ithink a number of interpreter associations, a number of different organizationslike the Language Line Services, are really pushing Congress and legislators toput various regulation on a national basis. I think there is a lot of work, alot of standards that are being developed so we can, in fact, have a unifiedapproach." Provenzanosays he hopes that will allow health care professionals to focus on the medicalservices without worrying about important bits of information getting lost intranslation.