Week 3 – Discussion Board 1

[Art Liebl]

In at least 250 words talk about if you think present day legislation is enough. Do you see executive order 13166 being applied in your state? Respond to two fellow students by Monday.

[Musharraf Bayramova]

Prefixes and suffixes in medical terminology can completely change the meaning of a word. Combining prefixes and suffixes with a root creates new meanings, whereas each part of the word on its own usually has a fixed meaning. The ability to recognize their form and, follow word formation rules, construct a definition provides an advantage in understanding, memorizing, translating, and using new terms.

From the Medical Vocabulary section, several important explanations about them can be highlighted. Prefixes most often indicate location or quantity related to an object or process. They function similarly to adjectives or prepositions. A prefix may end with the letter “o,” which resembles the combining vowel that appears after a root; however, a prefix differs from a root in that it cannot function as a root in other words. For example, the root in the combination electr/o appears as a root in other words (electrified, electricity, electronic), whereas prefixes cannot be found functioning as roots in other words (aniso-, apo-, auto-, etc.). A suffix often indicates a pathological condition or the name of a medical procedure. Suffixes can also change the part of speech (for example, psychosis → psychotic).

Without going deeply into medical roots, and knowing only a few prefixes and suffixes, we can try forming new words using roots from everyday language. For example:
read + itis (inflammation) = readitis (excessive reading);
think + itis = thinkitis (excessive thinking);
a (absence of, without) + reading = areading (without reading);
ab (away from) + thinking = abthinking (thinking directed away from the topic);
a + read + itis = areaditis (the absence of excessive reading);
ab + think + itis = abthinkitis (excessive thinking directed away from the topic).

Knowing prefixes and suffixes helps to recognize the structure of words and understand changes in meaning. If the knowledge is trained, medical terms become much easier to decode.

[Musharraf Bayramova]

The previous post was meant for Discussion Board 2, I apologize for the confusion. Below is the post for this board’s topic:

Current laws of the state of Oregon require the Oregon Health Authority to establish a medical interpreting system. Under state law, the Authority is responsible for developing testing standards, issuing qualifications and certifications, maintaining a registry of medical interpreters, defining rules for interaction between health care providers and health care interpreters, administering service scheduling and payment processing, explaining standards, retaining medical interpreters, and supporting their professional development.

Oregon law defines its policy on access to the health care system for individuals with limited English proficiency based on Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically the policy guidance on prohibiting discrimination based on national origin for LEP persons, which issuance was announced in Executive Order 13166. Legislation defines its policy also on the 1978 Patient’s Bill of Rights.

Executive Order 13166 connects the lack of language access to federally funded social services with laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of national origin. It instructs each federal agency to develop and implement a plan to ensure language access in its programs and activities and to explain to the organizations it funds how to comply with the law. The order also refers to the LEP Guidance document on applying these legal requirements. In turn, the Patient’s Bill of Rights establishes standards for hospitals in their treatment of patients. Oregon lawmakers incorporated standards from LEP Guidance and professional hospital principles into a mandatory requirement for the Oregon Health Authority to create a system for managing and training medical interpreters.

The level of regulation of medical interpreting in Oregon legislation turned out to be more developed than I had expected.

[Isnelda Mancia]

Good job, Musharraf
Every state has different laws regarding Medical Interpreters to support them.

[Isnelda Mancia]

The Executive order 13166 requires agencies to reexamine and enhances their practices for creating a more accessible environment to those with English proficiency. Additionally, they ask agencies to share the best practices for providing access to multilingual information with each other.

Millions of Americans have limited English proficiency, meaning that they have difficulty reading, writing, speaking or any combination of the three in English. For example, finding a job, receiving education, and accessing healthcare can all be extremely difficult for these individuals when resources and information are not provided in their language.

Further strengthening and improving meaningful language access ensures we address linguistic barriers in governmental services that would otherwise deny individuals a full opportunity to participate in economic, social, and civic life.

[Leidy Granados]

Isnelda, you made a very important point about how Executive Order 13166 helps improve access to services for people with limited English proficiency. I agree that many individuals face serious challenges when trying to find a job, get an education, or receive healthcare if information is not available in their language. Language barriers can certainly prevent people from fully understanding their rights and the services available to them.

I also like how you mentioned the importance of agencies sharing best practices. When institutions work together and improve their language access policies, it can make services more inclusive and accessible for millions of people who rely on interpreter services.

[Julia Rosales]

I like that you went beyond just healthcare services and looked at a bigger picture, how these services are important in multiple aspects of an individual’s life.

[Leidy Granados]

Present-day legislation has made important progress in protecting the rights of patients with limited English proficiency, but there is still room for improvement. Laws and policies have helped ensure that patients who do not speak English can receive medical care through qualified interpreters. However, the effectiveness of these laws often depends on how well they are implemented and enforced in each state and healthcare facility.

One of the most important policies supporting language access is Executive Order 13166. This order requires organizations that receive federal funding to provide meaningful access to services for individuals with limited English proficiency. In healthcare settings, this means hospitals and other medical providers must offer interpreter services so patients can understand their diagnoses, treatments, and medical instructions. In the state where I reside now, Massachusetts, this order appears to be actively enforced and supported by additional state laws and regulations.

For example, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 111 Section 25J requires acute-care hospitals to provide competent interpreter services to patients who do not speak English when they seek emergency care. This law helps ensure that patients can communicate effectively with healthcare providers during critical medical situations. In addition, the state has established further regulations under 105 CMR 130.1105. These regulations require hospitals to provide interpreter services at no cost to the patient and ensure that services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In my opinion, these laws demonstrate that language access is taken seriously in Massachusetts. While current legislation provides an important foundation for protecting patients’ rights, continued monitoring, enforcement, and improvements are necessary to ensure that all patients receive equal access to healthcare services regardless of the language they speak.

[Julia Rosales]

I agree that one the best ways to continue to improve these services is through continued monitoring, that way any issue can be first identified and then solved.

[Musharraf Bayramova]

Thank you for the post. I found it interesting to learn about laws in MA.

[Julia Rosales]

Order 13166 was mandated by president Clinton in 2000. It states that if a health facility receives any forms of government funding, they must also provide adequate interpreting services to any patients in need of language interpreting. These laws were put in place in order to provide LEP individuals with an improved access to various services, since it extends to legal, and education services. It was a large improvement in setting standards for the care of LEP individuals.
I see examples of this mandate being in Rhode Island state. The Rhode Island department of Health offers various resources in multiple languages online for anyone to access. In hospitals such as Women and Infants, there is a specific desk that offers interpreting services from certified interpreters in various languages, for any patient/visitor of the hospital. They make sure to distinguish certified and qualified, demonstrating the standards they expect from their interpreters.
However, at a smaller level, it may be harder to maintain these standards in regulation. Smaller and local facilities may not have the same resources available to them, making it harder for them to give their LEP patients adequate care. This is why it is important to keep in mind CLAS standard 12. Which would mean to conduct regular assessments of the local communities, to be able to find ways to maintain higher standards. Improvements can always be made to ensure that LEP patients receive the highest standard of care. We can ensure this by maintaining the fifteen national CLAS standards in mind,and enforcing them adequately.

[Musharraf Bayramova]

I found your point about language support at smaller and local facilities very interesting.

[Author]

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