Test Development for National Medical Interpreter Certification Advances. Oral Exam Pilot Concludes and Written Exam Pilot Commences

Washington DC - (September 29, 2009) - The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters continues to advance towards the launch of a single national certification process that will award individuals the credential of "Certified Medical Interpreter" (CMI) in a specific language. It recently concluded the pilot of the National Board oral exam and commenced the pilot of the National Board written exam with an open call to the field for participants.

"The National Board is taking every measure to ensure that the written and oral exams accurately assess an interpreter's knowledge and skills," said Louis Provenzano, President and COO of Language Line Services.

"This pilot phase is critical for ensuring the reliability and validity of the test instruments with complete inclusion of input and participation from the field itself."

Read the rest of this National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters news release here >>

Study Finds Racial Inequalities Cost U.S. Health System Over $50 Billion a Year

Racial inequalities in health care access and quality added more than $50 billion a year in direct U.S. health care costs over a four-year period according to a study released today by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

In this study, researchers at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland found that over 30 percent of direct medical expenditures for African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics were excess costs linked to health inequalities.

Between 2003 and 2006, these excess costs were $229.4 billion.

Further, the researchers estimated that the indirect costs of racial inequalities associated with illness and premature death amounted to more than a trillion dollars over the same time period.

Eliminating these inequalities would have saved the U.S. economy a grand total of $1.24 trillion dollars. The study noted that this four-year $1.24 trillion expenditure is more than the annual gross domestic product of India, the world's 12th largest economy.

Read the rest of this report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies here (PDF file) >>

Making a Business Case for Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care: Key Issues and Observations.

A report to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, authored by Randall R. Bovbjerg, Harry P. Hatry, and Elaine Morley

As an introduction: "The persistence of racial and ethnic disparities in American health care is an important problem for society, for medical caregivers, and of course for the people disadvantaged.

"Numerous remedial efforts have been launched, including the Finding Answers program of the RWJF, along with other public and private initiatives.

Central components of the disparities-reform agenda are:

• Documenting the existence of consequential disparities in treatment or results;
• Developing and disseminating information about interventions that successfully reduce disparities in care or improve the quality of care for minority patients; and,
• Generating supportive business cases for improvement.

This brief report focuses upon the third aspect of building the case for change-the need for disparities-policy innovators and researchers to create business cases that support useful interventions across a wide variety of caregivers and health plans.

Read the rest of this Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report here (PDF file) >>

Hispanics in the United States are less likely to die from cancer than non-Hispanic whites, but they have higher rates of cancers linked to infections, including stomach, liver and cervix malignancies, a new report says.

At first glance, Hispanics' lower death rate from cancer seems to be good news, but one explanation is that the Hispanic population skews younger than the general U.S. population. Cancer risk rises with age.

The new detailed look at cancer incidence is from Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanics/Latinos 2009-2011, a report released Sept. 15 that's published every three years by the American Cancer Society.

Hispanics are the largest, fastest-growing and youngest minority in the United States, according to the report. They also have a cancer risk profile that differs from whites and other ethnic groups.

Hispanics are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to die from the four most common cancers: breast, prostate, colorectal and lung.

But Hispanics have higher rates of stomach cancer, associated with Helicobacter pylori infection; liver cancer, associated with hepatitis B and C infection; and cervical cancer, linked to human papillomavirus infection.

Read the rest of this EmpowHer.com report here >>

The National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) organization is comprised of several national public service organizations, professional medical associations, and government agencies working in partnership to build breast cancer awareness, share information and provide access to screening services.

NBCAM and www.nbcam.org are a year-round resource for patients, survivors, caregivers and the general public.

If you or a loved one wonders about breast cancer, there are many forms of information on NBCAM's website. Here are just a few:

• About NBCAM and Q & A
• Breast Cancer Q & A, and
• Questions to Ask your Doctor

Please note that the above links are downloadable documents.

Help Us Fight Breast Cancer Now with the Language LineŽ "Speak Pink" Phone...

Now you can order our brand new "Speak Pink" phones.

With all the features of our traditional phones, make a statement through this dual-handset phone's distinctive pink color and pink ribbon logo.

The best news? Proceeds support the American Breast Cancer Foundation.

• Hear presentations on latest national lobbying updates
• Receive training on how to advocate
• Be the voice of the LEP patient in Washington, DC
• Come with us to your Senators and Representatives offices, we need you!

Attention! Providers, State Representatives, Interpreters, Associations, Trainers, Educators & other stakeholders. Register now to ensure a seat.

This year's May 1st Forum was full capacity! There is NO FEE to attend this important annual, multi-stakeholder event.

Register now!

Selected News of the Month

• Test Development for National Medical Interpreter Certification Advances, Oral Exam Pilot Concludes and Written Exam Pilot Commences


• Language Line Services' - Cross-Cultural Update for September 2009. Useful Cultural News, Tips and Timely Information


• IMIA 2009 Compensation Survey - To better understand the interpreting profession, the IMIA asks you to take this compensation survey. Survey closes 10/7/09, so please go here >>


• Report on the Tennessee Association of Professional Interpreters and Translators (TAPIT) Conference - Nashville - Sept. 11-14, 2009


• NPR Story - "Need An Interpreter? Just Pick Up The Phone" - Listen to 3 minute audio as well

Read more Language Line Services news here >>

Who attends the conference?

Over 700 were in attendance in 2008 from across the US and over 10 countries. Attendees include Spoken Language and ASL Medical Interpreters, Interpreter Trainers, Language Coaches, and Instructors, Hospital Administrators, Risk Management Professionals, Language Access Advocates, Physicians, Nurses, Social Workers, Language Service Providers and more.

Special this year:

Get a complete update on national and international advocacy efforts for the certification and reimbursement of medical interpreters! For more information go to: http://www.imiaweb.org/conferences/2009default.asp

To Register: http://www.imiaweb.org/conferences/confreg2009.asp.

Language Line Services, the leader in language interpretation, is seeking to increase its interpreter team in many languages.

Among other positions, we are now hiring experienced, professional face-to-face medical interpreters!

In: Santa Clara, CA and New York City, NY

Our experienced, professional face-to-face medical interpreters provide consecutive interpretation, have educated native fluency in two languages and are highly skilled in the cultural dynamics of the languages they interpret.

If you have native fluency in English and another language, at least one year of medical interpreting experience, are trained and/or certified as a medical interpreter and have excellent customer service skills, then apply online at www.LanguageLine.com/careers.

Interested in becoming an over-the-phone interpreter?

If you have excellent proficiency in English, with strong listening and comprehension skills as well as good customer service skills, you can become an interpreter for Language Line Services.

Visit www.languageline.com/careers.

View the "How to Become an Interpreter" Video.

Then, click on "Apply Today" under "interpreter Careers" OR "Corporate Careers" and follow the directions.

Here's what one valued client recently said about one of Language Line Services' excellent interpreters:

"...interpreter #6100 for Farsi was awesome fantastic and amazing. I am speechless as to how good the interpreter was. We have a very difficult client that he made so easy for me. Thank you..."

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