Healthcare organizations must comply with many different regulations and standards. So, it’s no wonder that there’s confusion about the kinds of documents these organizations should translate! Thankfully, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to your healthcare translation projects. If you don’t know where to start with translating your documents, here are some of the most common healthcare translation projects we do.
Vital Healthcare Translation Projects
While each organization can determine what documents they want to translate, there are six types of vital documents that your organization must translate. These documents include:
- Notices of free language assistance
- Notices of eligibility criteria for services
- Informed consent documents
- Intake forms that have clinical consequences
- Discharge instructions
- Complaint forms
Title IV requires these documents to be translated for any Limited English Proficiency (LEP) language group that constitutes 5% of the population or 1,000 people, whichever is less of the served population.
Common Healthcare Translation Projects for Health Plans
Health plans translate a variety of other documents for their member base. The most common documents health plans want to translate include:
- Evidence of Coverage booklets
- Provider directories
- Disclosure forms
- Member handbooks
- Summary of benefits
- Annual notice of change
- Appeals and grievances
- Template-based member correspondence
- Marketing and outreach materials
- Letters, flyers, booklets, and other member communication documents
- Enrollment forms and guides
As a health plan, one of the best ways to start thinking about what documents you should translate is to ask yourself or your team: “What do our members need to know?” If your English-speaking members need the information you’re providing, your LEP members also need that information in an accessible format. Anything that contains vital information about coverage, benefits, providers, etc. should be added to your list of must-do healthcare translation projects.
Other Common Healthcare Translation Projects
Hospitals, doctors offices, therapy offices, and plenty of other healthcare organizations also need to think about other documents they’ll need to translate. Some other common documents we receive translation requests for are:
- Medical notes, records, and reports
- Medical diagnoses and documents
- Medical devices and procedures
- Clinical trial information
- Medical history, physical health, and mental health questionnaires
This may seem like a lot of documents to consider as you’re putting together your Language Access Plan, but it all comes down to what your members or patients need to know. If the information is vital to your English-speaking members and patients, it’s also vital to your LEP members and patients. Giving your LEP members and patients documents that they can clearly understand increases patient satisfaction and decreases the risk of negative health outcomes. Fully understanding what documents must be translated for your LEP members and patients helps them and your organization.
If you’re still confused about where to start and what documents to translate, we’re happy to help! Call us today at 530-750-2040, or request a free quote. We can walk you through everything you need to know about healthcare translation projects!
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Ash is the Marketing Coordinator at Avantpage, Inc. Ash works to create high-value, targeted content that allows consumers to connect with us at Avantpage. They are a strong proponent of everyone having equal access to communication and information. They have written and created content for a variety of online platforms, and have been published in over 30 online platforms with varying topics. But Ash is other things too! An avid athlete, Ash enjoys spending their free time rock climbing, partaking in aerial circus sports, and practicing acroyoga.