Simple – Interpreting in Healthcare

How do language barriers affect patient care—in hospitals, in medical and psychotherapeutic (outpatient) clinics, in the work of nursing services, and in the treatment experience of patients and their families? What if there is no common language in healthcare?

Unser Logo mit den Buchstaben SIMPLE

SPRACHMITTLUNG IN DER GESUNDHEITSVERSORGUNG

Language barriers not only impede communication, but also affect treatment quality, access to care, and patient and provider satisfaction. Without professional interpreting, misunderstandings, medical errors, and treatment disparities are inevitable.

Ensuring equal treatment for all people living in Germany, including those with limited German language skills, requires that multilingual treatment teams be supported by professional interpreters. However, there are currently no uniform funding, training, or operational standards for the use of professional interpreting in German healthcare, in part due to the lack of a legal framework for insurance coverage.

Against this backdrop, the SIMPLE project – “Sprache öffnet Türen” (Language Opens Doors)—led by Prof. Dr. Ulrike Kluge and Dr. Simone Penka from the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the Charité and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Health from August 2024 to December 2025, is dedicated to the multidimensional implementation of professional interpreting in the health care system. The main goals of the project include:

  1. Model implementation of professional interpreting in outpatient and inpatient health care, with accompanying evaluation of enabling factors and barriers.
  2. Development, implementation and evaluation of a certified training program for medical personnel
  3. Facilitating networking and outreach with a broad alliance of a) language service providers, b) medical personnel, c) patients, d) lobbyists and external consultants to support effective and sustainable implementation.