Recent complaints from PV patients demonstrate need for reminder

Every week, Intermountain Health Peaks hospitals coordinate about 10,000 video and telephone calls between patients and the interpreters they need to understand their care.

This service is an essential part of the mission to offer equitable access to the highest-quality healthcare for all. Further, engaging a qualified interpreter for patients who don't speak English is the law.

However, two recent complaints from Platte Valley patients in as many weeks demonstrate the need to remind physicians about the importance and ease of arranging for an interpreter.

“The doctor came in and saw no one spoke English, went out of the room briefly perhaps to find someone who could interpret. I don't think he found anyone because he came back into the room, examined me and then left. I didn't get a chance to ask him questions.”

“The wife shared with the nurse that a provider went into the room and spoke to her and her husband, the patient, but her husband doesn’t speak English, and even thought the interpreter iPad was in the room, the doctor still didn't use it and the patient and wife felt they couldn't ask the doctor anything. They simply wish to have an interpreter present when the doctor visits so they can ask questions.”

Both experiences are antithetical to high-quality, patient-centered care. The good news is that our comprehensive Interpreter Services policy already is in place, and the decision about whether an interpreter is needed for a particular patient already has been made.

During the admissions process, all inpatients at Platte Valley are asked if they speak a language other than English at home. All patients who answer "yes" have their preferred language noted in their chart and are required to have an interpreter present – in person, by phone or on video – for every clinical conversation for the duration of their stay.

This is hospital policy and must be followed even if:

• The patient has a working knowledge of English, can conduct a conversation and claims an interpreter isn't necessary.

• The patient has a loved one present who is fluent in English and volunteers to act as an interpreter. This is allowed, but a qualified interpreter must also be present to confirm the loved one's interpretation is complete and accurate.

• You or a member of the care team is fluent in the patient's preferred language. Only a certified interpreter can provide interpreter services. Physicians who want to communicate with their non-English-speaking patients must successfully complete a language assessment. Only then will they be considered bilingual and able to communicate directly with their own patients or visitors who are limited-English proficient.

To engage an interpreter for your patients, Platte Valley has rolling iPads on all of the units that offer immediate access to certified interpreters of 46 of the most-common languages spoken in the community. Interpreters for an additional 200 languages are available by phone toll-free at 833-831-1556. Any phone can be used to request an interpreter, including the phone in the patient's room.

In order to be compliant with the policy, physicians must document the presence of an interpreter for all clinically relevant patient conversations by using the Epic smartphrase .INTERPRETERSERVICE or by searching for the 'Interpreter Service' flow sheet in the patient's chart. Once used, it will automatically populate for all subsequent conversations.

Physicians with question about the hospital’s Interpreter Services policy or process can contact Lidia Puga, Platte Valley patient experience and language services coordinator.