What makes us different? Read our Declaration of Journalistic Independence Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News
Search our 25,000 free articles and special reports

Many resident physicians not trained in the use of medical interpreters (press release)

Wednesday, October 25, 2006 by: NaturalNews | Key concepts: physicians, hospital and JAMA

Want stories like this e-mailed to you? Click here for free email alerts

Email this article to a friend Printable Version
A significant number of resident physicians receiving training in U.S. hospitals report they have not received instruction in key aspects of communicating with patients who do not speak English, despite federal regulations requiring adequate interpreter services for such patients. In the Sept. 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Institute for Health Policy report the results of a national survey on residents' education and practices when caring for patients with limited English proficiency.

"Residents need to be taught not only how to obtain trained interpreters at their hospitals but also why they should use them and how to do so more effectively," says Karen C. Lee, MD, MPH, lead author of the JAMA report. "Improved availability and proper use of trained interpreters could help improve quality of care and health outcomes for patients with limited English proficiency, who may have problems accessing the health care system and communicating with their providers. Using multilingual written materials may also enable these patients to understand what they've been asked to do after they go home" Lee worked on this study when she was associated with the MGH Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy.

The research team mailed surveys to about 3,500 residents in the final years of their training programs at 149 academic health centers across the U.S. The survey asked residents whether they had received instruction on several topics related to the use of interpreters – including how to obtain trained medical interpreters, the legal rights of patients with limited English skills to have professional medical interpreters, and the dangers of using untrained interpreters.

Among the more than 2,000 respondents, more than half replied they had not been taught that patients with limited English proficiency have a legal right to professional interpreters. (Guidance issued in 2000 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states that denial of adequate interpreter services to patients with limited English proficiency is a form of discrimination.) While 77 percent of respondents said they sometimes or often used professional interpreters when facing language barriers, 84 percent admitted to frequently using untrained interpreters, such as patients' family members and friends. More than 20 percent admitted to sometimes or often relying on children under age 12 to interpret for family members, a practice cited as particularly risky.

"The use of untrained interpreters, who may not be familiar with medical language, can cause problems." says Joel S. Weissman, PhD, of the MGH Institute for Health Policy, the senior author of the JAMA report. "And the use of children is particularly problematic because it can upset family dynamics. One can only imagine how awkward it can be when a doctor asks a 12-year-old girl about some of her grandfather's personal health problems." Weissman is an associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

More than half the responding residents reported that lack of access to interpreters and to written materials in other languages, as well as lack of time, posed moderate or major problems in providing cross-cultural care. Residents reporting inadequate access to professional medical interpreters were 40 percent less likely to say they used such interpreters.

"As with other areas in which doctors are expected to communicate with patients, training really matters," says Weissman. Residents receiving some or a lot of training in working with interpreters were about twice as likely to use professional interpreters as those who reported little or no training. However, the only factor significantly associated with decreased use of children as interpreters was instruction in patients' legal rights to professional interpreters.

"Lack of appropriate medical interpreters not only makes it harder to make the right diagnostic and treatment choices, it also can make care more costly, since studies have shown that providers tend to order more tests in these instances," says Joseph Betancourt, MD, MPH, director of the MGH Disparities Solutions Center and a co-author of the JAMA report. "As we become an ever-more-diverse nation, we need to assure that our future physician workforce is prepared to deal with the challenges of our changing population."

Contact: Donita Boddie dboddie@partners.org 617-724-5627 Massachusetts General Hospital

###

Related Articles

Physicians and bribery: a closer look at this common medical industry practice

The great direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising con: how patients and doctors alike are easily influenced to demand dangerous drugs

Western Medicine's Domination By Egoistic, Narrow-Minded Male Physicians Now Being Overturned by an Increase in Female Doctors

For Sale: Physicians' Prescribing Data (press release)

Physicians often do not communicate important medication information (press release)

Additional Resources:

physicians
hospital
JAMA

Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com

Email this article to a friend

Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us

Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/020875.html

Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link.

Receive our Natural Health Newsletter for FREE

Subscribe now (it's free!) to win. We randomly choose a subscriber each month to send $100 in eco-home products or a RealGoods.com gift certificate (our choice). Plus, you'll receive FREE news, articles and action alerts from NaturalNews.com editors and join over 800,000 monthly readers who report extraordinary health improvements after becoming a subscriber!
  • Receive breaking news alerts on natural health solutions, renewable energy, the environment, global warming and more.
  • Receive a free instant download of our $29 Secret Sources guide that reveals top sources for little-known health and diet solutions.
Your Email Address:
Free Subscription Code:
Enter the numbers you see:
100% free of charge. Unsubscribe anytime.
Absolutely no spam. We respect your email privacy.

Recommended Special Report:

Seven Words that can Change the World
by Joseph R. Simonetta

Read this special report now...

"Seven Words That Can Change the World reveals the astonishing, simple truths that have the power to forever transform our world for the better while freeing our minds from the enslavement of limiting beliefs. This is not a text for the simple-minded; it is a guiding philosophy for the mindful, intelligent few who are wise enough to seek out -- and recognize -- the higher simplicities of truly purposeful living." - Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, editor of NaturalNews.com

More on NaturalNews.com:

Streaming Health Ranger Videos
CounterThink Cartoons
FREE Special Reports
Podcasts

Also Posted Today

The Politics of National Health Care Reform: Why no Popular Presidential Candidate can Solve Our Health Care Crisis (transcript)

Big Pharma "Doomed" if it Doesn't Change, Says Eli Lilly Chairman

The Poisoning of America's Water Supplies

Rickets on the Rise as Vitamin D Deficiency Surges Among Expectant Mothers

The Many Benefits of Coconut Oil and Coconut Butter

Beat Disease With Juice Feasting!

NEW 6-CD audio set reveals amazing new protocol for reversing cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease and more. Click to learn more.

Own Health Ranger Report Podcasts on Audio CD

Own the first 8 Health Ranger Report audio programs on 6 CDs. Covers weight loss, ADHD, vaccinations, processed meats, bone health and more. Click to learn more.

Featured Videos

Short clip on Aspartame
A short clip on aspartame from the documentary All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...

Exclusive video on Aspartame
The dangers of aspartame! Exclusive interview footage from Cori Brackett of Sweet Remedy.
Click here to view now...

Exclusive Footage from All Jacked Up!
See interview footage featuring the Health Ranger in the upcoming junk food film, All Jacked Up.
Click here to view now...

Drug Ad Parody
See the Health Ranger's satire parody of Merck's cholesterol drug ad.
Click here to view now...

Free Health Reports!

Amazon Herb Company review
The pH Nutrition Guide to Acid / Alkaline Balance
Pet Food Ingredients Revealed! (shocking)
Medicine From Fish
The Water Cure
The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D

Featured CounterThink Cartoons

When doctors have nightmares


The Speeding Doctor


What doctors are really thinking


Health Product Companies We Recommend

Read recommendations on supplement companies, health food manufacturers and personal care product makers that you can trust. Our 100% independent review list tells you who to trust and who to avoid in the natural health industry. Click to read.
This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2008 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. Truth Publishing sells no health or nutritional products and earns no money from health product manufacturers or promoters. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners.