Consent Form Language Translation

With a relatively high population of patients in this region who are English language learners, or otherwise not fluent in English, the unavailability of translated patient consent forms could be problematic.  The first language of many patients in Central Oregon is Spanish, however, the site has not yet received consent forms in any language other than English. 

In attempt to circumvent this issue, the Mosaic Medical language specialist has translated a portion of the necessary forms, and the translated draft is currently under review by Mosaic’s document review committee.  The specialist, however, is not in a position to translate all necessary documents in their entirety for the following reasons:

·      Ethical question of placing responsibility on medical interpreters to translate legal documents, as they may not be properly trained in this language

·      Difficulty of translating a technical English document, maintaining sensitivity to reading levels and nuances of language

Thus far, only one patient has been unable to independently read and sign the consent form due to it’s being unavailable in Spanish.  In this case, a translator was unavailable to accompany the RN and TCA to the installation.  The necessitation of a translator during home installations can pose a burden for the clinic, and may slow the process of delivering remote care to patients.

Possible resolutions of the consent form translation predicament will be discussed during the next meeting of COTN and RCCHC.