Accreditation

Greeley Reflections

Accreditation Connection, April 1, 2011

Standard readiness: Targeting patient provider communications

 

Part 4 of 12

RI.01.01.03

 

In patient rights, there is an emphasis on providing written (translation) and oral (language) services (RI.01.01.03).

  • A new note under EP2 (provision of language and interpreter services) includes a focus on determining which documents and languages need translated based on the population served. For example, the language line is a great tool but there can be delays in providing the service and is limited to audio. Use your baseline assessment to determine if you are fulfilling the needs your patients appropriately based on the volume of those served.
  • The interpreter needs to be able to assist in relating to medical issues so a translated document should not just be handed to a patient without providing additional support. On-the-fly translations can lead to errors and someone who has conversational language skills may not have the proficiency to relate on medical issues. This would preclude using housekeeping or office staff that speak the language but are not necessarily trained to relay health information. This EP’s scoring remains at the current “C” level.

 

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