According to researchers, people who speak little to no English in the United States are, on average, less likely to seek preventative medical care, visit the doctor regularly, or find the right treatments. This could largely be due to the language barrier between the hospital staff and the patient.
In order to rectify this, many patients have turned to bilingual family members or coworkers to help interpret information between themselves and the medical staff. However, bilingualism doesn’t guarantee accurate interpretation.
Unlike someone who is simply bilingual, professional interpreters study their area of expertise in great depth. This allows them to accurately communicate complicated medical ideas, terms, and other jargon from the source language to the target language.
Poor communication and misunderstandings in the medical field could have disastrous consequences. Even the slightest confusion, like a slightly inaccurate description of a symptom, could lead to a misdiagnosis—and confusing the dates of a prescription could lead to overdoses or underdoses.
Additionally, there are certain laws and regulations that mandate the usage of qualified medical interpreters in the healthcare industry; and failure to comply with these laws and regulations could result in fines and lawsuits. To name a few, a healthcare provider must comply with Title IV, HIPAA, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
TraduccioNOLA provides services that can bridge the gap between patients needing healthcare, and the medical professionals that serve our community.