New Commission Will Certify Healthcare Interpreters

September 2009

Helping clinicians and patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) focus on quality health care rather than an inability to communicate with each other is the goal of a new organization that is working to assure competency in language interpretation in healthcare settings.

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI), launched in September 2009, was established by healthcare professionals, interpreters and stakeholders — including ACU — to develop and direct a comprehensive certification program for healthcare interpreters.

The inability to communicate is stressful for both patients and healthcare providers.  In previous studies, ACU found that untrained interpreters, family members or staff members with some familiarity with a second language often fill the gap but with varying degrees of success.  The new organization will help assure competency and standardization in interpretation in healthcare settings.

“For more than 20 years, the healthcare community and the people they serve have been facing a growing dilemma of not being able to communicate with each other, especially in a critical time of emergency and life-threatening situations,” said Mara Youdelman, Chair of CCHI. “Despite a growing number of healthcare interpreters, finding the right person with the necessary professional skills, training and medical competency to bridge the communication gap and timely interpret coherently between practitioners and patients has often been difficult to achieve,” she said.

ACU has long recognized the importance of health literacy and language access services in delivering quality care. “Health care has made important strides over the last several years with the recognition that interpreter services are a core component of providing care,” said ACU president Peter Sherman, MD. “Creating national certification standards for interpreters is the next step in insuring that interpreters are viewed as an essential part of a transdisciplinary health care team and is strongly supported by ACU.”

Lois Wessel, CFNP and ACU associate director for programs is a member of the advisory panel for the commission. “Professional certified medical interpreters are the key to improved health outcomes for patients with limited English proficiency. They guarantee that communication is fluid, meaningful, and trusted,” she said. “This allows the providers great assurance in knowing their messages are understood, can improve outcomes for the patient and increase professional satisfaction for the provider,” according to Wessel.