Telephone interpreter discrepancies: videotapes of Hmong medication consultations

Over 25 million people in the USA have limited English proficiency (LEP). Interpreters are often used to facilitate communication with health care providers. Little is currently known about interpreter quality.

To explore the quality of telephone interpretation during medication consultations between Hmong clients and their pharmacists.

This descriptive study analyzed transcripts from videos of consultations between six triads of Hmong patients, pharmacy students and interpreters. Analysis was divided into two segments: (1) pharmacy: communication from student pharmacist the interpreter to patient and (2) patient: communication from patient to interpreter to student pharmacist. Researchers coded transcripts separately then compared codes.

The six encounters yielded 496 communications with 275 discrepancies including omissions, additions, and word substitutions. Pharmacy to patient communications included, 45% (118/262) of omissions, 27.5% (72/262) of substitutions, and 15.6% (41/262) of additions. The patient to provider communications included, 8.1% (19/234) of omissions, 6.0% (14/234) of substitutions, and 4.2% (10/234) of word additions. Some omissions, additions, and substitutions in the pharmacy to patient communications were classified as potentially clinically relevant. Significantly, substantial discrepancies between the student pharmacists' comments and the interpretation to patients had potential for hindering relationship building between patients and their providers.

Pharmacists may assume that the presence of an interpreter ensures accurate communication from pharmacist to patient and from patient to pharmacist. This study confirms that those assumptions may not be valid. These findings highlight the need to improve pharmacy education and interventions to improve pharmacist communication with LEP patients.