NEW!
Sign Language Now Available. |
Frequently Asked Questions
 How fast can I get an interpreter? |
| Call our office immediately. Usually we can get someone there for common languages in one hour or less. Rarer languages may need to be rescheduled. |
| How do I know if there is an assigned interpreter? |
1. One way is to log in to the website with your
login and password (call the office if you don’t know it) and
then you will see appointments for the date in question. If the appointment
is listed as “filled”, an interpreter is assigned. If
the appointment is listed as “unfilled”, it is still unassigned.
In this view you can actually see the name of the interpreter.
2. When you add the job online, put your e-mail address in that field, and when the job is assigned you will get an automatic e-mail notification it is assigned. |
| Will I receive a confirmation e-mail of interpreter’s job? |
| Yes, if you have entered your e-mail address in that field when entering the appointment online. |
Must I provide an interpreter for a deaf or non-English speaking
patient’s medical appointment?* |
YES (in person or via telephone). It is not ethical or HIPAA compliant to ask a child, friend or family member to interpret. Besides being dangerous it can be source of great liability. If they don’t know the law, any office manager can do some research on the Dept. of Justice Website and/or read Title VI that prohibits discrimination. This has been applied to entities and offices receiving federal funds (Medicaid or Medicare). Then recently the President’s Executive Order 13166 (If you click on this link you can read about this Executive Order) JCAHO also provides standards regarding using interpreters who are trained.
*THIS WEBSITE IS NOT A SOURCE OF LEGAL COUNSEL. If your office has a Risk Management Dept. or legal counsel, you should ask them specifically about these matters. |
| What If I think the patient understands me? |
| If they can explain back to you in detail what you
have just said, maybe they do. If you are in doubt, and they cannot
explain back to you in detail, then you may be dealing with a potentially
dangerous lack of communication. This is especially true of consent
forms or possible side effects of a treatment. |
| How do I cancel an appointment? |
| If it is over 24 hours, you can cancel it yourself online. Click the void box, and then save. If it is under 24 hours, you must call this office 513-745-0888. |
| How can we get special rates or discounts? |
| If you schedule in advance a consecutive interpreter
for a shift of 6 hours or more for common languages you may qualify
for a discounted rate. Please check with the office to see what offers
are available. |
| What is Affordable Language Services, Ltd. cancellation policy? |
| Common Language appointments that are canceled 24
hours or less will be charged the hourly minimum. Rare language appointments
that are canceled 24 hours or less will have a 2 hour minimum charge
or the pre-quoted cancel rate to be determined at the time of the
appointment. If there are special arrangements for conference or simultaneous
interpreting, then the policy will be in the written agreement for
that job. American Sign Language appointments that are canceled 24
hours or less will be charged the minimum which will equal the scheduled/estimated
length of time if over 2 hours. |
| Are your Medical Interpreters certified? |
| There is no national or state medical certification
for interpreters at this time. If someone tells you they are certified,
be wary and ask to see their certification. They could have gotten
a certification in the State of Washington and moved here with that
certification. CREDENTIALS are another matter. Affordable Language
Services is the only company in Cincinnati who provides a 40-hour
course that is nationally recognized (developed in Washington State
by Cross Cultural Health care organization) and has formal written
testing. One must pass a test to receive a Certificate of Completion. |
| Are there special requirements for legal, court, and law enforcement related jobs? |
ABSOLUTELY!! Terminology is unique. We have provided local training for many interpreters to learn the requirements and guidelines for legal interpreters.
If you are a court or law enforcement agency, you have to read this study done in Ohio about interpreters in law enforcement situations. Please click here to link to it.
This article defines certified and qualified interpreters--see page 66. It also defines the absolute no-no’s for law enforcement related interpreters. (family members, friends, neighbors) |
| Are your Legal interpreters certified? |
| Some are, yes. Our American Sign Language interpreters are certified nationally (RID/NID) (http://www.rid.org/). Most language interpreters are qualified. (See definition on page 66 of link to Summit / Loraine Project.) State certification is just beginning in Ohio in early 2006, so there is no OHIO state interpreter certification. However, there are interpreters who have gotten certification in other states. Isabel Framer was the first Ohioan to get State Court certification. She had to travel to Oregon and Tennessee to obtain it! As of this writing, there is no State or Federal certified interpreters in the Cincinnati area. |
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What does LEP mean? |
| Limited English Proficiency. |
| Is Patient Information Secure? |
| Our online appointment maker is SSL which means that information is secure from intrusion by outsiders. We do NOT e-mail any patient information. |
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