Medical Interpreter’s Course by Mitio
The briefing stage is important to obtain necessary information from the parties before the session start, so that the interpreter can better understand what is going on.
Everything said must be interpreted, and the interpreter has a legal obligation to expose a patient in case they express an intention of hurting themselves or others. Apart from the above mentioned specific case, the interpreter must keep the patient information confidential in order to be HIPAA compliant. This includes the destruction of any notes the interpreter has taken during the session.
While patient and healthcare provider shall be recommended to talk to each other directly, the third person shall be used to refer to the interpreter when interjecting (e.g. when asking for repetition or clarification). Positioning is also important, meaning that the patient and provider both need to see each other comfortably and the remote interpreter needs to be able to see and hear them properly. Obviously, the code of ethics requires the interpreter to restrain from sharing personal judgement or opinions.
All the above is extremely important for a medical interpreter to be able to meet professional standards required by the clients. A medical interpreter shall particularly focus on overcoming the embarrassment of interjecting, and on being consistent in using the third person when referring to themselves.
For more information on the Online Medical Interpreting Certificate Training Course, click on the MiTio link.
