Chapter 3 – Health Care Operations

3.3.5.5 Interpreter Services

• Policy

  • The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall utilize language assistance services when necessary to assist in providing dental health care to patients.

• Purpose

  • To establish guidelines for the appropriate utilization of interpreter services when providing dental care to patients.

• Procedure

  • Dental staff shall consult with the individual at their institution who is assigned to ensure effective communication with Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients and shall utilize the LEP coordinator when questions arise regarding LEP services.

  • Eligible patients must be provided qualified interpreter services during all phases of health care provision. (Reference the Health Care Department Operations Manual [HCDOM], Section 2.1.2, Effective Communication).

  • Available medical translation services for eligible patients shall be utilized in the order of preference as follows:

    • Qualified bilingual health care staff interpreters at the institution.
      

    • Contracted language translation services or certified medical interpretation services as provided for by institutional, regional, or statewide contracts. Dental staff shall obtain the most current contracts from the institution LEP coordinator, contract analyst or Associate Warden (AW) for Health Care Services, or Captain when there is no Health Care Services AW position allocated at the institution.

  • A list of qualified bilingual health care staff interpreters is to be made available to the Office Technician or designated dental staff by the Institution LEP Coordinator.

  • When urgent/emergent health care must be provided to a patient who requires the assistance of an interpreter to effectively communicate, and a qualified health care staff interpreter is not available in a timely manner, any available interpreter may be utilized. In such situations, a qualified health care staff interpreter must be summoned and upon arrival immediately replace the non-qualified interpreter.

  • Use of interpreter services and accommodation(s) made for effective communication shall be noted in the health record as outlined in the HCDOM, Section 3.3.6.1(c)(1)(F) through (H).

• References

  • Health Care Department Operations Manual, Chapter 2, Article 1, Section 2.1.2, Effective Communication

  • Health Care Department Operations Manual, Chapter 3, Article 3, Section 3.3.6.1, Health Records Organization and Maintenance

• Revision History

• Effective: 04/2006
  Revised: 11/2017, 11/2020, 02/2022