1. An interactive e-learning course designed to
increase your understanding of the business,
medical (quality/safety) and legal reasons
for providing language access services to
Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients.
The Situation: Nationally, nearly 20% of Americans speak a language
other than English. In some states and communities that percentage is over
40% of the population. Despite these dramatic demographic shifts however, a
substantial body of national research establishes that few physicians are familiar
with the language access laws that govern the use of interpreters, bilingual staff
and translated written materials. As a result, high quality patient care and safety are
frequently compromised.
Our Solution: Language Access and the Law is designed to help remedy these
problems. It provides two hours of case-based instruction on the law of language
access and immigrant medicine. This interactive program is designed to teach
medical professionals the most common problems associated with the provision
of language access in a wide variety of medical settings. It also includes web links
to clinical guidelines, national best practices, practical business, medical and legal
advice and valuable medical references to additional resources. The e-learning
format makes it easy to complete and review course content whenever your
schedule permits.
The Instructional Format is Designed
to Quickly and Effectively Teach
Clinicians How To
• Grow your practice in response to
increased demand from culturally and
linguistically diverse patients.
• Effectively discharge your legal obligations
to provide language access services under
federal and state law, the CLAS standards
and new Joint Commission requirements.
• Avoid common problems in the provision
of language access services.
• Work effectively with interpreters.
• Provide high-quality language access
services that increase patient safety.
• Avoid unwanted litigation through
proactive, proven risk management
techniques.
Critical Measures 4627 Nicollet Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55419 info@criticalmeasures.net
Language Access and the Law E-Learning Program
A Cost-Effective
Program For Time-
Limited Providers
• User friendly, on-demand
training program delivered
via Internet or intranet.
• Available 24/7 - at your
command from any location,
any time.
• Bookmark your place and
start again where you left off.
• Cost-effective alternative to
expensive classroom courses.
• Save time traveling to and
from live training classes.
• Obtain 2.25 CME credit
hours.
• Users learn and retain more
than conventional classroom
programs by being required
to interact with the material,
answer questions and obtain
feedback on their choices.
Want More Information?
Contact David B. Hunt, J.D.,
President and CEO of Critical
Measures, LLC, a national
management consulting and
training firm specializing in
cross-cultural medical care.
P: (612) 746-1375 or
P: (612) 558-0028 (cell)
E: dbhunt@criticalmeasures.net
Or visit www.cmelearning.com

2. Critical Measures worked with a Midwestern multi-hospital
system from 2011 to 2013 to conduct a CLAS-based
organizational assessment, Language Access Audit and a
Provider Cultural and Linguistic Competence Assessment.
Our CLAS-based organizational assessment and Language
Access Audit identified many quality and safety issues with
the client’s provision of language access services to Limited
English Proficient (LEP) and Deaf and Hard of Hearing
patients. We worked with the client to remedy many of these
issues.
Then, we conducted our electronic Provider Cultural and
Linguistic Competence Assessment. Over 500 doctors, nurses
and advanced practice providers took the assessment. The
results for the client’s providers showed:
• 97% treated LEP patients. (Similar to US average)
• Nearly half of the client’s providers felt “less than well
prepared” to care for these patients.
• Client’s primary care M.D.s (Family Practice, OB-GYN,
Pediatricians, and Internists, by their own self-evaluation
were the least well prepared to provide care to LEP patients
despite the fact that they had the most freqent contact with
them.
• 30% did not routinely use qualified interpreters to
obtain the informed consent of LEP patients. Further,
approximately 50% did not routinely record the use of an
interpreter in the patient’s record.
• 92% treated immigrants and regugees, but over 60% of the
client’s providers felt “less than well prepared” to do so
effectively.
• 56% to 70% did not routinely ask about patients’
country of origin or recent travel history despite the fact
that the answers to these questions could have substantially
affected the patients’ ultimiate diagnosis.
• 52% were unfamiliar with Schistosomaisis and an
additional 65% were unfamiliar with Stronglyoides--two
of the five most common diseases found in immigrants and
refugees to the U.S.
The results noted above proved so distressing to our
hospital client that they approached the hospital’s
foundation for a substantial grant to pay providers to
take Critical Measures’ CME accredited e-learning
course on Language Access and the Law.
The client began offering our Language Access and the
Law e-learning program in the fall of 2013. As of the
fall of 2014, over 400 providers have now taken and
completed the course. Here is a sample of users’ initial
results:
• 92% of users (382 of 416) strongly agreed/agreed
that the information presented would help them to
improve patient care.
• 85% would recommend the program to colleagues.
• Prior to taking the course, 50% felt very confident/
confident about their ability to treat LEP patients.
After completing the course, 95% felt very
confident/confident about their ability to treat LEP
patients. (Total gain: +45%)
• From pre-test to post-course evaluation, the number
of users who stated that they would increase their
future use of qualified medical interpreters when
treating LEP patients increased by 23%.
• From pre-test to post-course evaluation, more than
50% of users stated the number of users who stated
that they would decrease their future use of family
members, friends, and minor children as interpreters
for LEP patients.
Critical Measures 4627 Nicollet Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55419 info@criticalmeasures.net
Language Access and the Law E-Learning Program
Want More Information?
P: (612) 746-1375 or
P: (612) 558-0028 (cell)
E: dbhunt@criticalmeasures.net
Or visit www.cmelearning.com