Loss of patient centeredness in interpreter-mediated primary care visits.

All visits were from one urban academic primary care practice, so the results may not apply to other clinics or interpreter settings. The study included 55 visits in Cantonese, Mandarin, and Spanish, so it cannot say how interpreters behave in other languages or in other health services. It observed communication rather than testing an intervention, so it cannot show that changing interpreter practice would improve patient-centeredness. Psychosocial/lifestyle talk was very infrequent, so the study gives limited information about how interpreters handle that content. One author developed and owns the RIAS coding system, which could shape how the measure was adapted and interpreted.

One author developed and holds copyright for the Roter Interaction Analysis System and owns a company that consults on it. The other authors declared no financial or non-financial conflicts.

Do not conclude that interpreter services should be avoided or that interpreters alone are responsible for poor patient-centered care. The study found less patient-centered talk was conveyed, but interpreters improve access for vulnerable patients, and the patient and clinician exchange is the source of what interpreters convey.