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Curbside Consultation

When a Patient Declines Interpreter Services

Maniraj Jeyaraju, MD
Jaime Russell, CT, CHI
Rana Alkhaldi, MD

American Family Physician. 2026;114(1):86-88.

Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships

MANIRAJ JEYARAJU, MD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

JAIME RUSSELL, CT, CHI, Amethyst Language Solutions, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

RANA ALKHALDI, MD, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Address correspondence to Maniraj Jeyaraju, MD, at mjeyaraju.work@gmail.com.

Author disclosure: No relevant financial relationships

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  2. 2.Flores G. The impact of medical interpreter services on the quality of health care: a systematic review. Med Care Res Rev. 2005;62(3):255-299.
  3. 3.US Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Updated March 24, 2025. Accessed September 13, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/crt/fcs/TitleVI
  4. 4.Hornberger J, Itakura H, Wilson SR. Bridging language and cultural barriers between physicians and patients. Public Health Rep. 1997;112(5):410-417.
  5. 5.Lee LJ, Batal HA, Maselli JH, et al. Effect of Spanish interpretation method on patient satisfaction in an urban walk-in clinic. J Gen Intern Med. 2002;17(8):641-645.
  6. 6.Schwei RJ, Schroeder M, Ejebe I, et al. Limited English proficient patients' perceptions of when interpreters are needed and how the decision to utilize interpreters is made. Health Commun. 2018;33(12):1503-1508.
  7. 7.Brisset C, Leanza Y, Laforest K. Working with interpreters in health care: a systematic review and meta-ethnography of qualitative studies. Patient Educ Couns. 2013;91(2):131-140.
  8. 8.US Department of Health and Human Services. Civil Rights: Section 1557: ensuring meaningful access for individuals with limited English proficiency. August 25, 2016. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-individuals/section-1557/fs-limited-english-proficiency/index.html
  9. 9.US Department of Health and Human Services. CLAS Standards: think cultural health. Accessed September 13, 2025. https://thinkculturalhealth.hhs.gov/clas/standards
  10. 10.Chen AH, Youdelman MK, Brooks J. The legal framework for language access in healthcare settings: Title VI and beyond. J Gen Intern Med. 2007;22:362-367.
  11. 11.Diamond LC, Schenker Y, Curry L, et al. Getting by: underuse of interpreters by resident physicians. J Gen Intern Med. 2009;24(2):256-262.
  12. 12.Diamond LC, Luft HS, Chung S, et al. “Does this doctor speak my language?” Improving the characterization of physician non-English language skills. Health Serv Res. 2012;47(1):556-569.
  13. 13.Heath M, Hvass AMF, Wejse CM. Interpreter services and effect on healthcare—a systematic review of the impact of different types of interpreters on patient outcome. J Migr Health. 2023;7:100162.
  14. 14.Jacobs EA, Shepard DS, Suaya JA, et al. Overcoming language barriers in health care: costs and benefits of interpreter services. Am J Public Health. 2004;94(5):866-869.
  15. 15.Fagan MJ, Diaz JA, Reinert SE, et al. Impact of interpretation method on clinic visit length. J Gen Intern Med. 2003;18(8):634-638.
  16. 16.Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Guide to developing a language access plan. August 2023. Accessed December 8, 2025. https://www.cms.gov/about-cms/agency-information/omh/downloads/language-access-plan.pdf

Case scenarios are written to express typical situations that family physicians may encounter; authors remain anonymous. Send scenarios to afpjournal@aafp.org. Materials are edited to retain confidentiality.

This series is coordinated by Caroline Wellbery, MD, associate deputy editor.

A collection of Curbside Consultation published in AFP is available at https://www.aafp.org/afp/curbside.

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