The ethics of interpreter use

Abstract

Consulting with a patient where there is a language barrier is unethical unless the barrier is overcome. Every patient with a language barrier should have this prominently documented on their file. Much of the literature relating to working with interpreters suggests that a professional interpreter should be used all the time, although in practice this is far from standard practice. In this paper we look at the issue using normative ethics, utilitarian ethics, an argument based on equality of health outcomes before making an argument for an approach based on clinical judgement in each consultation of what form of language assistance is acceptable.