Updated interpreter guide for primary care professionals
Our guide for working with patients where there are language barriers has had an update. The guide, developed for primary care health professionals working in private practice, steps through recommended best practices for working with culturally and linguistically diverse patients when no or little shared language is a barrier to providing quality patient care.
Top recommendations from the guide
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It is best practice to ask all new patients what their language preferences are. Record these in their file.
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If a patient does not speak English (and you do not speak their language fluently) it is recommended that you use a qualified interpreter.
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Working with an interpreter assists you to meet your ethical and legal obligations related to duty of care for the patient, ensuring patient safety.
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Some patients may speak conversational English, yet they may not understand a health consultation. Interpreters should be engaged in these situations.
Clinical benefits of working with an interpreter
Clinical benefits of working with an interpreter include:
- more efficient and accurate diagnosis
- improved patient understanding
- improved patient adherence to management plans
- improved uptake of health promotion information
- fewer unnecessary tests and procedures
- increased patient satisfaction and safety.
This is consistent with the codes of conduct for health practitioners, including Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia.
Access the interpreter guide for primary care professionals
Read or download the updated Interpreter Guide for Primary Care Professionals: bsphn.org.au/documents/2024_09_24_interpretingguide_final.pdf
The value of receiving care in your first language
People tend to have more positive experiences with primary care professionals when they are engaged with in the language they are most fluent in. One example of this is the Screening Saves Lives program, led by the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH).
This national campaign aims to improve migrant and refugee communities’ participation in breast, cervical and bowel cancer screening through the delivery of health education sessions and community engagement activities. The campaign will be delivered in 20 languages.
Learning about cancer screening in your first language can be life changing. Our Screening Saves Lives Program allows community members to develop trust, participate and engage with health information via a professional and skilled multilingual health educator, receive evidence-based health information, and build the confidence to access life-saving screening services,
explains Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health (MCWH) Director of Programs, Dr Regina Torres-Quiazon.
More helpful links for primary care workers
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Multicultural Health Coordination Program — a program for people of all age groups living in Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich regions who are from a multicultural background and have complex health and/or social needs. Access the referral form online, or contact mhcp@mater.org.au or phone 07 3163 4000.