Errors of Medical Interpretation and Their Potential Clinical Consequences: A Comparison of Professional Versus Ad Hoc Versus No Interpreters

Use of Interpreters by Physicians for Hospitalized Limited English Proficient Patients and Its Impact on Patient Outcomes

“…21 High quality clinical care and patient safety are compromised when there are communication barriers. The use of nonprofessional interpreters is known to cause an increase in interpreter errors that can potentially harm the patient, through the misinterpretation of information 7,25,26 and alteration of key patient details. 27 One study found that there was a significantly higher proportion of errors with potential clinical consequences when ad hoc interpreters or no interpreters were used compared to professional interpreters.…”

“…27 One study found that there was a significantly higher proportion of errors with potential clinical consequences when ad hoc interpreters or no interpreters were used compared to professional interpreters. 7 Clinicians may be 'getting by' without interpreters for a variety of reasons, including a perceived increase in clinical encounter time with the use of interpreters. 4,21,28 There are several high quality studies that demonstrate no clinical encounter time increase with in-person hospital interpreters.…”

“…5,6 The Institute of Medicine report Crossing the Quality Chasm states that the use of an interpreter is not only a quality, but also a patient safety imperative. [7][8][9][10] Most studies to date have focused on the impact of interpreters in the outpatient and emergency department (ED) settings. 11,12 Few studies have explored the relationship between in-hospital physician use of interpreters and patient outcomes measured by length of stay (LOS) and readmission rates.…”

Changes in Language Services Use by US Pediatricians

“…[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Improved communication, patient satisfaction, and health care outcomes, as well as fewer interpretation errors, occur when LEP patients have access to bilingual providers or trained professional interpreters. [11][12][13][14] Use of ad hoc interpreters (family members, friends, or staff not trained in interpretation) can lead to miscommunication and errors that compromise health care quality and safety. [11][12][13][14] Based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, federal regulations mandate that health care organizations receiving federal funding (including Medicaid and Medicare) provide meaningful access to language services for LEP patients.…”

“…[11][12][13][14] Use of ad hoc interpreters (family members, friends, or staff not trained in interpretation) can lead to miscommunication and errors that compromise health care quality and safety. [11][12][13][14] Based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, federal regulations mandate that health care organizations receiving federal funding (including Medicaid and Medicare) provide meaningful access to language services for LEP patients. 15 The National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services in Health Care (CLAS standards) issued by the Department of Health and Human Services provide guidance on Title VI compliance and include a recommendation for ensuring competence of those providing language services.…”