- Health care
organizations must offer and provide language assistance services,
including bilingual staff and interpreter services, at no cost to each
patient/consumer with limited English proficiency at all points of
contact, in a timely manner during all hours of operation.
- Health care
organizations must provide to patients/consumers in their preferred
language both verbal offers and written notices informing them of their
right to receive language assistance services.
- Health care
organizations must assure the competence of language assistance provided
to limited English proficient patients/consumers by interpreters and
bilingual staff. Family and friends should not be used to provide
interpretation services (except on request by the patient/ consumer).
- Health care
organizations must make available easily understood patient-related
materials and post signage in the languages of the commonly encountered
groups and/or groups represented in the service area.
Resource Information
Links:
Limited English Proficiency
(LEP)
-
Executive Order 13166
It's about improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English
Proficiency, President William J. Clinton, August 11, 2000.
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/Pubs/eolep.htm
-
"I Speak" Language Identification Flashcard
From the Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, the "I Speak" Language Identification Flashcard is written in 38 languages and can be used to identify the language spoken by an individual accessing services provided by federally assisted programs or activities.
-
Know Your Rights
Beneficiary Brochure
-
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) U.S. Government site
LEP.gov promotes a positive and
cooperative understanding of the importance of language access to federal
programs and federally assisted programs. It acts as a clearinghouse,
providing and linking to information, tools, and technical assistance
regarding Limited English Proficiency and language services for federal
agencies, recipients of federal funds, users of federal programs and
federally assisted programs, and other stakeholders.
This site provides General Guidance Resources.
Its multiple resources include guidance for recipients by Agency such as the
Department of Health and Human Services and
Department of Justice.
-
Limited English Proficiency brochure
-
U. S. Department of Health & Human Services,
Office for Civil Rights, Headquarter and Regional Addresses
-
U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division,
Title VI of the Civil rights Act of 1964
This site has an overview, Statues, regulations and links to publication on
Title VI.
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Limited English Proficiency
(LEP) Videos
- U. S. Department of Agriculture, Food & Nutrition
Services developed a video that presents many examples of LEP situations in the public sector services.
- EPoCH -
Education Physicians on Controversies in Health is an online series of
educational programs developed by the American Medical Association (AMA).
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
has some videos to address LEP issues.
- The Commonwealth Fund
-
Speaking Together for Better Care: How Effective Medical Interpretation Can
Improve Quality of Care
The video takes you to Cambridge Hospital in Massachusetts and to Phoenix
Children’s Hospital, where medically trained interpreter services are making
a critical contribution to improving safety and clinical outcomes for
patients who speak or understand little English, if any.
This short video also introduces you to Speaking Together’s efforts to:
improve the quality and availability of health care language services;
integrate quality improvement with language services; pilot performance
measures for evaluating language services; test interventions to improve the
timeliness and quality of interpretive services; and reduce health care
disparities associated with language barriers.
-
Video Medical
Interpretation: Preventing Health from Getting Lost in Translation
Language barriers can be hazardous to your
health. A broken heart can’t be treated at the ER. The Office of Minority
Health, DHHS published the above article about preventing health from
getting lost in translation.
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Languages Spoken
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Language Access
-
A Patient-Centered Guide to Implementing Language Access Services in Healthcare Organizations
The Office of Minority Health has sponsored the development of the guide to
help healthcare organizations implement effective language access services
(LAS) to meet the needs of their limited English proficient (LEP) patients,
thereby increasing their access to health care.
-
Bridging the Cultural Divide in Health Care Settings: The Essential Role of Cultural Broker Programs
This guide was developed by the National Center for Cultural Competence
(NCCC) in collaboration with a work group comprising experts on a broad
array of health issues for culturally diverse and underserved populations.
It was developed by the NCCC for the National Health Service Corps, Bureau
of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
-
California Standards for Health Care Interpreters: Ethical Principles,
Protocols, and Guidance on Roles & Intervention
The goal of this
document is to standardize healthcare interpreting practices by providing a
set of ethical principles, interpreting protocols, and guidance on roles
particular to the specialty of healthcare interpreting.
-
Cultural and Linguistic Access to Health Care
Administrated by the National Health Law Program, the webpage provides a
variety of information about cultural and linguistic access to health care.
-
The
Cultural and Linguistic Competence Policy Assessment (CLCPA)
CLCPA was developed by the National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) at
the request of the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources and
Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service to
assist community health centers to advance and sustain cultural and
linguistic competence.
-
Health Care
Language Services Implementation Guide
-
IMIA Guide on Medical
Translation
-
Language Portal: A Translation and Interpretation Digital Library
The Language Portal is a digital library of nearly 600 resources relating to
the use of language access services in social services and public safety
agencies. The Portal includes legal guidelines, service models, master
contracts for service providers, hourly translation and interpretation rates
for different languages, pay differentials for multilingual staff, and
sample translated documents. The Portal was created to provide “one-stop
shopping” for the many local government administrators, policymakers, and
others who are looking for ways to provide high-quality and cost-effective
translation and interpretation services.
-
List of Top 15 Largest
Telephone Interpreting Companies Worldwide
-
Medical
Interpreter's Guide to Telephone Interpreting
-
Medical
Leadership Council on Cultural Proficiency
Medical Leadership Council on Cultural Proficiency has unveiled a database
designed to assist physicians and others in providing improved language
access and culturally competent health care. With more than 350 initial
entries, the searchable, internet-based, free-to-the-public database
includes contact information for interpreters, nonprofit organizations,
hospitals, public health departments and others that provide health
information and services in languages other than English. Users, including
physicians, nurses, social service workers, patients and
the general public, can search for listings by county, by language, or by
type of service. Services and materials address various topics, including
diabetes and nutrition, in languages ranging from Arabic to Vietnamese.
-
Models for the Provision of Language Access in Health Care Settings,
March 2002
It's produced under a contract between
Hablamos Juntos and the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care.
-
More Than
Words Toolkit Series
It is a first-of-its-kind resource that clarifies the translation process,
and provides a roadmap to help health care organizations improve the quality
of their translated materials in order to get better results.
-
Point-To-Talk-Booklets
with multiple language guides
It is produced by Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical Interpreter
Services.
-
Providing Language Services in Small Health Care Provider Settings: Examples from the Field,
The Commonwealth Fund, April 2005
To assess current innovations,
the National Health Law Program conducted site visits and phone interviews
at small health care provider settings. Certain services emerged as
"promising practices"—creative, effective methods that are replicable by
other small providers. These practices include recruiting bilingual staff
for dual roles (e.g., front desk and interpreter positions); ongoing
cultural and language competency training for interpreter staff; using
community resources like hospitals, managed care organizations, students,
and volunteers; and capitalizing on underutilized funding sources. The
authors include an eight-step plan to help providers develop a strategy to
meet the needs of their LEP patients and the community.
-
Speaking Together
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has created an online toolkit, “Speaking
Together,” that aims to improve the quality and availability of health care
language services for patients with limited English proficiency.
-
Straight Talk: Model Hospital Policies and Procedures on Language Access
It's produced by California Health Care Safety Net Institute, sponsored by
California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems, and funded by
The California Endowment.
-
Summary of State Law Requirements Addressing Language needs in Health Care
(March 2008)
-
Telephone Interpreting: A
Comprehensive Guide to the Profession
The first major publication on the topic, this book offers extensive
information for anyone involved with interpreting services.
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Patient Education Materials
-
AHDC Multicultural Health
materials
The page features links to assist communities, providers, health educators
and professionals in multicultural health materials in different languages.
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Training/Education
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Standards
-
National Standards of Practice for Interpreters in Health Care
The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) has developed
the first set of national standards for medical interpreting professionals
in the United States. The 32 standards provide guidance on the
qualifications and proper role of the interpreter and define what
constitutes good practice. They are designed to promote better communication
between patients and health professionals who do not share a language and
improve the quality of care for these patients.
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Associations
Arizona
National
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Recommended Web Sites
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