Profession
New video available on effective communication with patients
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 30, 2009
The Joint Commission and the Dept. of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights have released a video that explains health care organizations' obligations when communicating with patients who have limited English proficiency or hearing impairments.
The video, "Improving Patient-Provider Communication: Joint Commission Standards and Federal Laws," is available on the commission's Web site (link).
The video provides guidance in determining the best methods to meet special communication needs and identifies tools that health care organizations can use to build effective language access programs. It also addresses organizations' obligations to translate written documents.
HHS and the commission do not endorse one approach to ensuring language access but recommend using resources and modes of interpretation that are necessary, accessible and in working order.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/11/30/prbf1130.htm.












