Patient Education and Counseling
Volume 81, Issue 2 , Pages 204-206 , November 2010

Reevaluation of the effect of mandatory interpreter legislation on use of professional interpreters for ED patients with language barriers

  • Adit A. Ginde

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author at: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, 12401 E. 17th Avenue, B-215 Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Tel.: +1 720 848 6777; fax: +1 720 848 7374.
    • ,
  • Ashley F. Sullivan

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
    • ,
  • Blanka Corel

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
    • ,
  • J. Alfredo Caceres

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
    • ,
  • Carlos A. Camargo Jr.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Emergency Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Received 3 September 2009 ,Revised 8 January 2010 ,Accepted 31 January 2010.

References 

  1. Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 111, Section 25J and Chapter 123, Section 23A. An act requiring competent interpreter services in the delivery of certain acute health care services. Available at: http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw00/sl000066.htm. Accessed 18 June; 2009.
  2. Sarver J, Baker DW. Effect of language barriers on follow-up appointments after an emergency department visit. J Gen Intern Med. 2000;15:256–264
  3. Jacobs EA, Lauderdale DS, Meltzer D, Shorey JM, Levinson W, Thisted RA. Impact of interpreter services on delivery of health care to limited-English-proficient patients. J Gen Intern Med. 2001;16:493–495
  4. Rivadeneyra R, Elderkin-Thompson V, Silver RC, Waitzkin H. Patient centeredness in medical encounters requiring an interpreter. Am J Med. 2000;108:470–474
  5. Ngo-Metzger Q, Sorkin DH, Phillips RS. Providing high-quality care for limited English proficient patients: the importance of language concordance and interpreter use. J Gen Intern Med. 2007;22:324–330
  6. Baker DW, Parker RM, Williams MV, Coates WC, Pitkin K. Use and effectiveness of interpreters in an emergency department. J Amer Med Assoc. 1996;275:783–788
  7. Bernstein J, Bernstein E, Dave A, Hardt E, James T, Linden J, et al. Trained medical interpreters in the emergency department: effects on services, subsequent charges, and follow-up. J Immigr Health. 2002;4:171–176
  8. Ginde AA, Clark S, Camargo CA. Language barriers among patients in Boston emergency departments: use of medical interpreters after passage of interpreter legislation. J Immigr Minor Health. 2009;11:527–530
  9. Moreno MR, Otero-Sabogal R, Newman J. Assessing dual-role staff-interpreter linguistic competency in an integrated healthcare system. J Gen Intern Med. 2007;22:277–278
  10. Rosenberg E, Seller R, Leanza Y. Through interpreters’ eyes: comparing roles of professional and family interpreters. Patient Educ Couns. 2008;80:87–93

☆ Presented at the 2009 Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Annual Meeting; 16 May 2009; New Orleans, LA, USA.

PII: S0738-3991(10)00036-4

doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.01.023

Patient Education and Counseling
Volume 81, Issue 2 , Pages 204-206 , November 2010

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