Addressing Language Access Issues in Your Practice: A Toolkit for ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Table of Contents 1 Acknowledgements 2 Dear Colleagues 3 Introduction 3 The changing voice of California 3 Why this is an important issue 4 Steps to communicating more effectively with your LEP patients 5 Step 1: Get Ready: Identifying Your Patient Population 5 Asking about language preference 6 Tracking language preference 7 Determining current and future demand 8 Step 2: Get Set: Identifying the Resources to Address Language Access 8 Communicating orally with your LEP patients • The patient learns English • Your own language skills • Language skills among your staff • Dedicated interpreters TIP: The pros and cons of language assistance options TIP: Working with trained interpreters, on-site • Community resources TIP: Working with untrained interpreters, on-site 14 New technologies in development • Video interpreting • Remote simultaneous interpreting 16 Communicating in writing with your LEP patients 17 Resources for translated health education materials and forms TIP: A word about applying standardized tests through an interpreter 18 Language Resources Summary 19 Using telephonic interpreting 19 When to use the telephone TIP: Working with trained interpreters over the telephone 19 Equipping your office 21 Side-by-side comparison of face-to-face and telephonic interpreters 23 Step 3: Go! Using the Right Mix of Services for Your Practice and Patients 23 Model policies and procedures TIP: For larger practices: Informing your patients about interpreter availability 27 Additional considerations for physicians • Language training • Interpreter training • Interpreter assessment • Contracting with agencies and services 29 A case study and checklist 31 Conclusion 32 Appendices A. Making the Case: The Practical and the Policy of Language Access B. Sample Policy and Procedure Manual C. Sample Job Description D. Sample Interpreter Service Waiver E. Other Resources
1 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYSICIANS Acknowledgments From the Author: Many thanks to those physicians, interpreters, health care professionals and administrators whose shared knowledge and experience have contributed to this toolkit. In addition, I would like to thank those who reviewed this document: Clyde Beck, MD; Chester Choi, MD, Mark Dressner, MD; Anna Marie Gonzalez, MD; Asma Jafri, MD; and Eric Ramos, MD. Special thanks also to Alice Chen, MD, for her invaluable input. The California Academy of Family Physicians would also like to acknowledge and thank the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum for making the expertise of Dr. Chen available for this project while she was completing a Soros Physician Advocacy Fellowship. This resource guide was developed with financial support from The California Endowment. We are grateful to The Endowment and Ignatius Bau, JD, our program officer, for his dedicated support of this work. Cynthia E. Roat, MPH About the Author: Cynthia Roat is a consultant and trainer on issues related to language access in health care. She has been a trainer for more than 23 years, starting her career working in rural development programs in Latin America, after which she earned a Masters degree in International Public Health from the University of Washington in Seattle. Certified by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services for both medical and social service interpreting, she has been a medical interpreter since 1992. She has made significant contributions in the areas of training, program development, policy formulation, advocacy and organizational outreach. Cynthia is the principle author of Bridging the Gap, currently the most widely offered training for medical interpreters in the United States. She is a founding member of the Society of Medical Interpreters in Seattle and Co-chair of the Advisory Committee of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care and is known nationally as an energetic advocate for the field of health care interpreting and for interpreters in general. The California Academy of Family Physicians, established in 1948, is the largest single medical specialty society in California with more than 7,000 family physician, family medicine resident, and medical student members. The mission of the California Academy of Family Physicians is: • To enhance, strengthen and promote the specialty of family medicine; • To promote professional and personal growth for its members; and • To advocate for family-centered care for all Californians.
Page 1: Addressing Language Access Issues i
Page 5 and 6: 3 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHYS
Page 13 and 14: 11 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF FAMILY PHY

Addressing Language Access Issues in Your Practice: A Toolkit for ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?