Health Care Interpreter Resources, Events, Policy, and Laws

Resources

Preferred Language Cards

Preferred Language Card Templates create business-size cards in Oregon's most frequently used languages that people with limited English proficiency (LEP) can carry in their wallets and show to their health care providers.

How to Use Preferred Language Cards

The Preferred Language Card is a language access tool designed to improve communication between a consumer with limited English proficiency (LEP) and health care providers in general. This card assists health care providers and their staff to quickly identify the consumer's preferred spoken language and to contact an interpreter. Fix

Langauge Cards in multiple languages below.

Instructions:

• Ask the consumer for their preferred spoken language
• Record the consumer's preferred language in their permanent record/electronic medical record
• Provide a Preferred Language Card in the consumer's chosen language
• Recommend that the consumer carry the Preferred Language Card and present it every time they need language interpretation services
• If the card is lost, please replace it immediately
  

Preferred Language Card Printing Instructions

This printable format creates 3.5 inch x 4 inch cards which are meant to be folded in half and shared with members, patients, and consumers. To create your own cards, set the printer to duplex (double side) printing, and we recommend a mid-wieght cardstock for best results. If you send the format to a professional printer, we recommend 80# Cover Dull Coated paper. If the cards are to be printed on a copier that has the capability to print cardstock use 80# Cover Brilliant White.

• Communication and Accommodation Card (Deaf, Deaf-Blind or Hard of Hearing)
• Arabic
• Bosnian
• Burmese
  
• Cambodian
• Cantonese
• Chinese Traditional
  
• Chuukese
• Farsi
  
• French
• German
• Japanese 
• Korean
• Laotian
• Mandarin
• Marshallese
  
• Oromo
• Pohnpeian
  
• Romanian
• Russian
• Somali
• Spanish
• Swahili
• Thai
• Ukrainian
• Vietnamese

The following links are provided for informational purposes only. The State of Oregon does not endorse them or make any claims as to their accuracy.

National Organizations

• International Medical Interpreters Association
• National Council on Interpreting in Health Care
• The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI)
• The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI)
• American Translators Association
• Federation of Interpreters and Translators
• Interpreter Associations in other states

HCI Standards and Code of Ethics

• National Standards of Practice for Interpreters in Health Care
• National Code of Ethics for Interpreters in Health Care
• New standards for patient-centered communication
• Roadmap for Hospitals on Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient and Family-Centered Care

Other Health Care Interpretation Resources and Organizations

• Resources for Mental Health Interpreting
• Hablamos Juntos
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: Interpreters and Translators
• Oregon Health Care Interpreters Association (OHCIA) 
• The Oregon Society of Translators and Interpreters (OSTI) 
• Bridging the Gap
• California Healthcare Interpreting Association
• Oregon Qualification and Certification for Sign Language Interpreters
• Final Report on CMS Funded Health Care Interpreter Learning Collaborative
  
• Creating an Accessible Presentation
  

HCI Survey

• Pilot Survey of OHA Qualified and Certified Health Care Interpreters
• Health Care Interpreters and Providers Survey Responses

Health Equity Definition

Oregon will have established a health system that creates health equity when all people can reach their full health potential and well-being and are not disadvantaged by their race, ethnicity, language, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, social class, intersections among these communities or identities, or other socially determined circumstances.

Achieving health equity requires the ongoing collaboration of all regions and sectors of the state, including tribal governments to address:

• The equitable distribution or redistributing of resources and power; and
• Recognizing, reconciling and rectifying historical and contemporary injustices.

Laws

Federal Civil Rights Law

Oregon's health care interpreter law is based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VI says that no one may be left out of any program or activity that gets federal funding because of their national origin.

Visit the Office for Civil Rights for more information on how to be sure that access is provided to people who can not speak English well.

Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 413.550

ORS 413.550 requires the State of Oregon to establish a program to certify health care interpreters who serve persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) in medical settings. The intent is to assure that persons with LEP get health care services that are based on accurate and complete information. Within the context of this law, health care is defined as "medical, surgical or hospital care recognized by state law, including mental health care."  

Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) 333-002

OAR 333-002 is the set of administrative rules establishing the standards for the implementation of ORS 413.550. 

Department of Justice

Analysis on Limited English Proficiency Translation and Interpretation Requirements 

Do you have a Civil Rights Complaint or concern regarding HCI services?

• Webinar on Oregon Health Authority's Non-discrimination Policy for the Public/Individual 
  
• Complaint Form

Coordinated Care Organizations and Health Care Interpreters

SB 1580 is the legislation which establishes Oregon's Coordinated Care Organizations. Administrative rule 410-141-3590 established the standards for CCOs related to cultural and linguistically accessible care and the use of qualified or certified health care interpreters.

Find out more about Coordinated Care Organizations in Oregon.