Every time a patient has to sign a form for authorizing sharing of medical records, the provider must be able to prove that the patient has understood the language in which the information was provided, so the use of translation or interpreting is necessary. Medical records generally include information on the patient’s preferred language of communication. An interpreter should never add, omit or substitute something. Even something that looks redundant is generally meaningful and should be translated.
Today, the majority of hospitals and clinics in the US use computerized medical records, also known as electronic medical records.
Some confidential information must be reported to the US state authorities in case lack of sharing would be harmful to another individual. This is the case of patients expressing the intention of hurting themselves or someone else, or patients who have infectious diseases like AIDS, because there is a risk of contagion for other people.
To get trained as a medical interpreter and work remotely for US healthcare facilities, follow MiTio’s link.
