| With the global economy looking healthier than | | | | language. |
| ever before, travel to far-flung countries on | | | | Substitution: (13%), in which a word or phrase is |
| business and pleasure continues to rise at a | | | | replaced with another word or phrase of a |
| steady pace. The influx of foreign students into | | | | different meaning. |
| US and British universities, and of software and | | | | Editorialization: (10%), in which the interpreter's |
| other professionals into European and American | | | | opinion is added to the interpretation. |
| businesses, has been escalating over the past two | | | | Addition: (8%), in which a word or phrase is added |
| decades. According to recent estimates - there | | | | by the interpreter. |
| are about 45 million people residing in the US | | | | (Source: Language Barriers Lead to Medical |
| alone, who speak a language other than English in | | | | Mistakeskyha.com/OCRLanguage |
| their homes, and among them, about 19 million | | | | 20Mistakes.pdf) |
| have a limited ability to communicate in English. | | | | Availability of interpreter or translation services |
| Need for interpreter and translation services in | | | | Currently, the services of an interpreter are |
| hospitals and clinics | | | | covered by insurance in five U.S. states: Hawaii, |
| When non-English speaking patients seek medical | | | | Maine, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington. Many |
| help, the issue of proper communication by | | | | large hospitals in Milwaukee have interpreters on |
| translation and interpretation of a patient's | | | | their payroll, and the State-owned Children's |
| problem for physicians and other medical staff at | | | | Hospital employs both full-time and part-time |
| the healthcare center assumes serious | | | | Spanish-speaking interpreters. Many hospitals |
| importance. Most patients take it for granted that | | | | outsource their interpreter or translation services |
| once they approach a doctor or hospital and | | | | based on need. However, a number of healthcare |
| describe their specific ailment and its symptoms, a | | | | establishments don't have adequate resources to |
| line of treatment that is appropriate to their | | | | cover the expense of hiring interpreters or |
| condition would be prescribed. But in reality, things | | | | translators. |
| are not all that simple: communication is the key | | | | On a more heartening note, the situation that |
| element here, as unexpected complications may | | | | prevails in the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in |
| arise if the patient or his family is unable to clearly | | | | the Bay Area is worth a mention. David Peschard, |
| explain the exact nature of the patient's condition | | | | a Mexican native, together with his dedicated |
| and the accompanying symptoms. The situation | | | | team of professional and volunteer translators |
| could be even more precarious if it happens to be | | | | help ease the problem faced by Spanish-speaking |
| an emergency. | | | | patients and their families who have difficulty |
| Although some hospitals and clinics have trained | | | | communicating in English. Peschard not only offers |
| interpreters on board for translating the patient's | | | | interpretation and translation services to |
| conversation, many are not equipped with such | | | | Spanish-speaking families, but also helps find |
| translation services. In any event, | | | | interpreters for patients who speak many other |
| miscommunication through faulty translation of a | | | | languages including Russian, Cantonese and |
| patient's condition can have serious implications on | | | | Japanese. He also coordinates interpreter training |
| the treatment outcome. | | | | and the commissioning of volunteer services at |
| Medical mistakes caused by errors in | | | | short notice as needed for interpreting |
| interpretation | | | | conversations between patients and their |
| In a recent study undertaken in the pediatrics | | | | physicians. Vietnamese is the second-most |
| department of the Boston Medical Center, 13 | | | | commonly spoken language, followed by Mandarin |
| encounters between physicians, their patients | | | | and Cantonese. |
| (who were non-English speaking) and the | | | | With rapid advances in the field of medicine taking |
| interpreters were video-taped, and it was found | | | | place concurrently with cross-border migration of |
| that there were as many as 396 interpreter | | | | people in large numbers either for education or |
| errors! The study specifically revealed that | | | | for livelihood, the need for a high quality of |
| untrained interpreters were far more likely to | | | | interpretation and translation services in health |
| make errors that had serious consequences on | | | | care facilities is being felt with increasing intensity. |
| the patient's health than trained personnel. | | | | Medical mistakes can prove expensive not only to |
| The most common interpreter errors that were | | | | patients and their care givers, but also to health |
| listed in the study were as follows: | | | | care establishments. So it would be appropriate to |
| Omission: (52%), in which the interpreter left out | | | | adopt strategies similar to the one practised at |
| an important piece of information. | | | | the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital by health |
| False fluency: (16%), in which the interpreter used | | | | care facilities, in the best interests of all |
| words or phrases that didn't exist in a specific | | | | concerned. |