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Members have the right to free language services for health care needs. We provide free language services including:
- 24-hour access to an interpreter: When members call to make an appointment or talk to their personal physician, if needed, we will connect them to a telephonic interpreter.
- Translation services: Some member materials are available in the member’s preferred language.
- Bilingual physicians and staff: In some medical centers and facilities, we have bilingual physicians and staff to assist members with their health care needs. They can call Member Services or search online in the medical staff directory at kaiserpermanente.org.Braille or large print:
Blind or vision impaired members can request for documents in Braille or large print or in audio format. - Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS): If members are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired, we have the Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) access numbers that they can use to make an appointment or talk with an advice nurse or member services representative or with you.
- Sign language interpreter services: These services are available for appointments. In general, advance notice of two or three business days is required to arrange for a sign language interpreter; availability cannot be guaranteed without sufficient notice.
- Educational materials: Health education materials can be made available in languages other than English by request. To access Spanish language information and many educational resources go to kp.org/espanol or kp.org to access La Guía en Español (the Guide in Spanish). Members can also look for the ñ symbol on the English language Web page. The ñ points to relevant Spanish content available in La Guía en Español.
- Prescription labels: Upon request, the KPMAS pharmacist can provide prescription labels in Spanish for most medications filled at the Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy.
At Kaiser Permanente, we are committed to providing quality health care to our members regardless of their race, ethnic background or language preference. Efforts are being made to collect race, ethnicity and language data through our electronic medical record system, HealthConnect®. We believe that by understanding our members’ cultural and language preferences, we can more easily customize our care delivery and Health Plan services to meet our members’ specific needs.
Currently, when visiting a medical center, members should be asked for their demographic information. It is entirely the member’s choice whether to provide us with demographic information. The information is confidential and will be used only to improve the quality of care. The information will also enable us to respond to required reporting regulations that ensure nondiscrimination in the delivery of health care.
We are seeking support from our practitioners and providers to assist us with the member demographic data collection initiative. We would appreciate your support with the data collection by asking that you and your staff check the member’s medical record to ensure the member demographic data is being captured. If the data is not captured, please take the time to collect this data from the member. The amount of time needed to collect this data is minimal and only needs to be collected once. Recommendation for best practices for collecting data is during the rooming procedure.
In conclusion, research has shown that medical treatment is more effective when the patient’s race, ethnicity and primary language are considered.
To access organization wide population data on language and race, please see our Diversity & Inclusion Annual Report*.
To obtain your practice level data on language and race, please email the Provider Relations Department at Provider.Relations@kp.org.