Interpretation has become familiar and has supported a lot for both doctors and patients. We all know the importance of Interpreting in Health, especially in the epidemic. However, we do not really understand how Medical Interpreting works and how it really affects the operation and effectiveness of medical examination and treatment.
LENGTH OF STAY
According to a three-year study conducted by the US National Library of Medicine, providing professional interpreting services in hospitals can decrease lengths of stay and reduce readmission rates of patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). Specifically, patients with limited English Proficiency not using the Interpreting service had a longer hospital stay of 0.75 to 1.47 days than LEP patients using Interpreting Service. On average, a patient who does not use the Interpreting service can be hospitalized for 5.05 days. Meanwhile, patients with Interpreter both at Admission and Discharge need only an average of 2.57 days. It can be implied that the number of days hospitalized in the first group was twice as many as that of the later group.
Figure 01: LENGTH OF STAY VS. ACCESS TO INTERPRETING
READMISSION RATE
In addition to the duration of admission, another aspect studied is the 30-day readmission rate of patients with Limited English proficiency. The proportion of patients with Interpreter re-hospitalized within 30 days was significantly less than those who did not use the service at all. Meanwhile, the rate of re-hospitalization of patients who only used an interpreter at discharge was lower than that of those who used an interpreter only at admission. Using Interpreting Service during discharge helps patients better understand how to take care of themselves and helps patients more easily understand the doctor’s notes, leading to a decrease in the recurrence rate of the disease.
Figure 2: 30-DAY READMISSION RATE VS. ACCESS TO INTERPRETING
Hopefully the above studies and data will help you better understand the importance of translating in Health.
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