Language barriers not only make communication difficult; they also affect the quality of treatment, access to care, and the satisfaction of both patients and staff/treatment providers. Without professional interpreting, misunderstandings, medical errors, and disparities in treatment are inevitable.

To ensure equal treatment for all people living in Germany, including those with limited German language skills, there is a need for multilingual care teams to be supported by professional interpreters. However, there are currently no uniform funding, training, or operational standards for the use of professional interpreting in healthcare. This is partly due to the lack of legislation governing cost coverage.​

With this in mind, the project SIMPLE – ‘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 Berlin and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Health from August 2024 to June 2026, is dedicated to the multidimensional implementation of interpreting in healthcare with the following objectives:

1. Model implementation of professional interpreting services in outpatient and inpatient care with an accompanying evaluation of enabling factors and obstacles
2. Development, delivery and evaluation of certified training courses for medical personnel
3. Facilitation of networking and outreach work involving a broad alliance of a) interpreting providers, b) medical personnel, c) patients, d) stakeholders and external consultants to support effective and sustainable implementation.