I have a patient coming to see me who doesnt speak english?


Question:
although her husband does, I need to take a full medical history from her. How "legally" do I handle this situation, and what problems could arise.

Answers:
Wow, do I have a resource for you!!!

Go to www.metdental.com

Click on the link for "resource center" and about halfway down that page you'll see "tools for patients and offices to share" and under that heading is "multi-language health forms".

Many people speak a little English, but reading is difficult. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader, a recent version, but if you don't have it, it is a free download. There are many languages available, maybe 20??

Find and download the patient's native language form, and then download the English version also. The questions are mostly "yes" and "no", so you'll be able to understand their responses.

Bookmark this site - it's been a life-saver for us.
Coming from the patient end... My fiance doesn't speak English... Anyway, when he went to the dentist a few months ago for an infection, they had a translator on staff. But they gave us the choice of using her, or having me translate. Unless your patient is hiding something from her husband, I don't think there's anything wrong with having him translate.


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