title: Errors in medical interpretation and their potential clinical consequences in pediatric encounters.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  About 19 million people in the United States are limited in English proficiency, but little is known about the frequency and potential clinical consequences of errors in medical interpretation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the frequency, categories, and potential clinical consequences of errors in medical interpretation.
  
  
  METHODS
  During a 7-month period, we audiotaped and transcribed pediatric encounters in a hospital outpatient clinic in which a Spanish interpreter was used. For each transcript, we categorized each error in medical interpretation and determined whether errors had a potential clinical consequence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen encounters yielded 474 pages of transcripts. Professional hospital interpreters were present for 6 encounters; ad hoc interpreters included nurses, social workers, and an 11-year-old sibling. Three hundred ninety-six interpreter errors were noted, with a mean of 31 per encounter. The most common error type was omission (52%), followed by false fluency (16%), substitution (13%), editorialization (10%), and addition (8%). Sixty-three percent of all errors had potential clinical consequences, with a mean of 19 per encounter. Errors committed by ad hoc interpreters were significantly more likely to be errors of potential clinical consequence than those committed by hospital interpreters (77% vs 53%). Errors of clinical consequence included: 1) omitting questions about drug allergies; 2) omitting instructions on the dose, frequency, and duration of antibiotics and rehydration fluids; 3) adding that hydrocortisone cream must be applied to the entire body, instead of only to facial rash; 4) instructing a mother not to answer personal questions; 5) omitting that a child was already swabbed for a stool culture; and 6) instructing a mother to put amoxicillin in both ears for treatment of otitis media.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Errors in medical interpretation are common, averaging 31 per clinical encounter, and omissions are the most frequent type. Most errors have potential clinical consequences, and those committed by ad hoc interpreters are significantly more likely to have potential clinical consequences than those committed by hospital interpreters. Because errors by ad hoc interpreters are more likely to have potential clinical consequences, third-party reimbursement for trained interpreter services should be considered for patients with limited English proficiency.
authors.affiliation: Center for the Advancement of Urban Children, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, USA. gflores@mail.mcw.edu
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.forename: M Barton
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Laws
authors.forename: Sandra J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Mayo
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zuckerman
authors.forename: Milagros
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abreu
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Hardt
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003144:Communication Barriers; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007802:Language; D008404:Massachusetts; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008487:Medical History Taking / Q000592:standards; D019303:Multilingualism; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D014177:Translations; D014705:Verbal Behavior