Nearly 9% of the U. S. population > 5 years of age has limited English proficiency. With the complicated jargon that patients try to understand in healthcare, a translator is an essential member of the Patient Safety team for these patients; although patients' friends and families may claim English proficiency, this does not mean these ad hoc translators understand medical terminology. In a study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, trained interpreters that received > 100 hours of training were 60% less likely to make an error than translators with less training. The study also found there were just as many misunderstandings with ad hoc interpreters compared to no interpreters at all. Poor communication is a threat to patient safety in any language; make sure you use a well-trained translator.

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