When you think of language services for healthcare, you may imagine interpretation for patients in hospitals and healthcare clinics first. However, it’s essential to provide clear communication in residential and palliative care facilities, too. Patients with cancer or in need of assisted living may also be limited-English proficient (LEP), entitling them to language services through Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Let’s review how residential care and palliative care facilities can better incorporate interpretation into everyday processes for improved communication.
Interpretation for palliative care
How to use interpretation during palliative care
Patients in palliative care need access to clear information about their serious, long-term, or chronic illness in order to make educated choices and decisions about their care. For LEP patients, this often requires healthcare providers to work with interpreters to break down language barriers. It’s often easier for patients to express themselves in their primary language, which is essential for helping manage their physical symptoms and emotional needs while reducing stress. Using an interpreter can help healthcare staff and the patient fully align on the patient’s values and goals to maintain their integrity and quality of life.
Did you know? Studies found that LEP patients had worse quality of end-of-life care and goals of care discussions when professional interpreters were not used.
Patients and families didn’t understand their diagnosis or prognosis adequately during goals of care conversations- Patients had worse symptom management at the end of life, including pain and anxiety
Palliative care providers can improve communication with LEP patients by:
- Using a professional interpreter for critical conversations: While it may seem kinder or easier to utilize a patient’s friend or family member to interpret difficult conversations, a professional interpreter is the ethical choice. In addition to Section 1557 and Joint Commission compliance, using professional interpreters ensures your words are delivered to the patient completely and accurately, without a personal bias influencing the tone or meaning. Trained, experienced interpreters understand medical terminology and know how to show empathy for patients and their supporters without losing their sense of impartiality. If there are any anticipated cultural barriers, the interpreter can help clarify for improved cultural competence.
- Brief the interpreter before beginning the conversation with the patient: For heavy, emotionally stressful conversations such as end-of-life care and goals of care discussions, notifying your interpreter in advance can be helpful. After the interpreter joins the call, you can say something like, “Interpreter, the patient and I are about to have a difficult discussion with her family regarding end-of-life care for her cancer.” Taking this extra step informs the interpreter that they may need to translate complicated medical terminology, use a comforting tone, or be prepared for an emotional response from the patient.
- Choosing the best mode of interpretation for each medical scenario:
An over-the-phone interpreter can help your staff communicate clearly and effectively during routine office visits, patient phone calls, and other day-to-day conversations. Using video interpretation is often more effective for patients with mental impairments, as well as elderly or pediatric patients.- For emotionally difficult conversations, you may prefer to use an on-site interpreter or video When the interpreter can see each speaker’s facial expressions and body language, they have more information to help them deliver the message than audio-only interpreters. For example, if the interpreter can see that the patient is upset and crying, they can pause the interpretation until the patient is able to listen to and comprehend the next statement.
- Implementing interpretation best practices: Palliative care providers should be trained to work with interpreters, including using a loud, clear voice and not speaking too quickly. Check out these tips for a quick refresher on how to help your interpreter.
- Providing translated written materials: Translated educational content helps LEP patients become better informed about their condition, empowering them to make decisions about their care. In addition, you may want to translate materials such as:
- Patient questionnaires and consent forms
- Financial assistance applications/summaries
- Pre-procedure handouts or surgery instructions
- Home care instructions
Interpretation for residential care
Like healthcare facilities, assisted living or residential care facilities that receive payments or supplementary plans from Medicare or Medicaid must follow Section 1557 language guidelines, including:
Posting notices of non-discrimination and signage explaining the availability of language services in your state’s top 15 languages- Using qualified interpreters in healthcare scenarios:
- Interpreters from a language services provider, such as CyraCom
- Healthcare staff with interpreting included in their official job duties
- Avoiding using the patient’s children, family, and friends as interpreters except in short-term emergency scenarios
- Providing an interpreter to a patient’s family, spouse, or partner, even if the patient doesn’t need one
Why patients in residential care need interpretation services
Like palliative care patients, LEP residential care patients deserve to fully understand their care and make informed decisions about their treatment. Patients who speak a different language from their healthcare providers often report worse interpersonal care and are more likely to rate providers poorly when surveyed.
For example, an HHS report found that nearly one-third of patients in skilled nursing facilities suffered adverse events or temporary harm during their stay, and that the majority of these harms were preventable. Providers may avoid misunderstandings that cause these preventable harms by using qualified interpreters when interacting with LEP patients.
How to use interpretation during residential care
Most residential care facilities do not have the time and resources to hire and manage their own staff of interpreters. Another option is partnering with a language services provider that can supply interpreters via phone or video chat on-demand.
Benefits of CyraCom’s remote interpretation
- 3 services for 1 price: You don’t have to choose between saving money and delivering the best care possible. With CyraCom’s unified pricing, all spoken languages are available at the same price for phone, video, or telehealth.
- Communicate effectively in hundreds of languages: CyraCom helps your team access qualified over-the-phone interpreters in seconds for hundreds of languages, helping your organization improve cultural competence and increase patient understanding and satisfaction.
- ISO-accredited language services: Third-party accreditations, like those earned from the International Organization for Standardization, showcase our ability to consistently meet global, professional standards.
Want to learn more about language services for palliative or residential care?
Contact our experts for a free language services strategy consultation.
