Whether you need an interpreter for a physician/patient encounter or a member service call, work with MAGNUS. The MAGNUS Language Valet is designed specifically for the healthcare industry. We can respond in-person or over the phone via the Language Valet. Just let us know your specific interpreting session requirements or give us a call at (800) 965-9321 and we’ll arrange everything.
Precise communication is critical in the delivery of quality medical care and also to efficiently process member requests. Understanding what a patient is saying ensures that medical personnel are fully informed and can make wise, cost effective, defendable decisions. And it helps put the people you serve at ease, allowing them to speak to you in their own language. With reimbursement now tied directly to patient and member satisfaction scores, ensuring a good encounter through clear communication is more important than ever.
Special requests, at your service
Many people prefer to have a female or male interpreter on gender-sensitive topics or because of religious or cultural preferences. Patients with ongoing conditions prefer to use the same interpreter throughout the course of treatment. At times, a patient would prefer an interpreter who not only speaks their language but who is also from their home country. At the MAGNUS Language Valet, we pride ourselves on delivering a superior level of service, customized to fit your needs and preferences. If you or the people you serve have a special request, please let us know. We will work to accommodate it at no extra charge.
Who should be allowed to interpret?
It is also important to note who should be allowed to function as an interpreter. As noted by the DOJ and published in the Federal Register :
LEP individuals may feel uncomfortable revealing or describing sensitive, confidential, or potentially embarrassing medical, law enforcement (e.g., sexual or violent assaults), family, or financial information to a family member, friend, or member of the local community. In addition, such informal interpreters may have a personal connection to the LEP person or an undisclosed conflict of interest, such as the desire to protect themselves or another perpetrator in a domestic violence or other criminal matter. For these reasons, when oral language services are necessary, recipients should generally offer competent interpreter services free of cost to the LEP person. (Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 117 / Tuesday, June 18, 2002 / Notices 41463)
Children, especially, are not particularly well suited to the role of being interpreters both for their general lack of linguistic competency and often their level of emotional development. In fact, according to the DOJ:
Generally, it is not acceptable for agencies or recipients to rely upon an LEP individual’s family members or friends to provide the interpreter services. The agency or recipient should meet its obligations under EO 13166 or Title VI by supplying competent language services free of cost. In rare emergency situations, the agency or recipient may have to rely on an LEP person’s family members or other persons whose language skills and competency in interpreting have not been established. Proper agency or recipient planning and implementation is important in order to ensure that those situations rarely occur.
http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/cor/Pubs/lepqa.php
Current “best practices” by experienced organizations require that they provide an interpreter even if the patient wants to have a family member or friend perform in this role. The organization’s professional interpreter will be able to observe, clarify, correct any errors made and assist in protecting the organization in case of a malpractice claim related to interpreting errors. ”