Interpreter Service - Access

Each acute care hospital shall provide all non-English speaking patients or individuals seeking or receiving emergency department services with access to competent interpreter services at no charge, by using bilingual staff, staff interpreters, or by contract arrangement. Provision and acceptance or refusal of interpreter services shall be documented in the patient’s medical record. Interpreter services in the emergencydepartment shall comply with the following standards: (A) Interpreter services shall be available, at a minimum, on an on-call basis 24 hours per day, seven days per week. (B) The collection of information from family members about family history and other collateral information is an acceptable practice, but does not substitute for the provision of interpreter services. (C) The hospital shall refrain from requiring, suggesting or encouraging patients to use family members or friends as interpreters. (D) The use of minor children as interpreters is prohibited. (E) Hospitals shall develop policies and procedures that identify those situations in which it will employ or contract for the on-call use of one or more interpreters for particular languages when needed, or use competent telephonic or televiewing services, provided that telephonic or televiewing interpreter services shall be used only where it can be documented that there is either: (1) no reasonable way to anticipate the need for employed or contracted interpreters for a particular language; or (2) there occurs, in a particular instance, an inability to provide competent interpreter services by an employed or contracted interpreter. (F) The hospital shall establish written protocols to assist staff in readily accessing telephone- based interpreting services. (G) The hospital shall establish written procedures for timely and effective telephone communication with non-English speaking patients.