(a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that California is becoming a land of people whose languages and cultures give the state a global quality. The Legislature further finds and declares that access to basic health care services is the right of every resident of the state, and that access to information regarding basic health care services is an essential element of that right. (2) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that when language or communication barriers exist between patients and the staff of any general acute care hospital, arrangements shall be made for interpreters or bilingual professional staff to ensure adequate and speedy communication between patients and staff. (b) As used in this section: (1) âInterpreterâ means a person fluent in English and in the necessary second language, who can accurately speak, read, and readily interpret the necessary second language, or a person who can accurately sign and read sign language. Interpreters shall have the ability to translate the names of body parts and to describe competently symptoms and injuries in both languages. Interpreters may include members of the medical or professional staff. (2) âLanguage or communication barriersâ means: (A) With respect to spoken language, barriers that are experienced by individuals who are limited-English-speaking or non-English-speaking individuals who speak the same primary language and who comprise at least 5 percent of the population of the geographical area served by the hospital or of the actual patient population of the hospital. In cases of dispute, the State Department of Public Health shall determine, based on objective data, whether the 5 percent population standard applies to a given hospital. (B) With respect to sign language, barriers that are experienced by individuals who are deaf and whose primary language is sign language. (c) To ensure access to health care information and services for limited-English-speaking or non-English-speaking residents and deaf residents, licensed general acute care hospitals shall: (1) Review existing policies regarding interpreters for patients with limited-English proficiency and for patients who are deaf, including the availability of staff to act as interpreters. (2) (A) (i) Adopt and review annually a policy for providing language assistance services to patients with language or communication barriers. The policy shall include procedures for providing, to the extent possible, as determined by the hospital, the use of an interpreter whenever a language or communication barrier exists, except when the patient, after being informed of the availability of the interpreter service, chooses to use a family member or friend who volunteers to interpret. The procedures shall be designed to maximize efficient use of interpreters and minimize delays in providing interpreters to patients. The procedures shall ensure, to the extent possible, as determined by the hospital, that interpreters are available, either on the premises or accessible by telephone, 24 hours a day. (ii) The hospital shall, on or before July 1, 2016, and every January 1 thereafter, make the updated policy and a notice of availability of language assistance services available to the public on its Internet Web site. The notice shall be in English and in the other languages most commonly spoken in the hospitalâs service area. For purposes of this paragraph, the hospital shall make the notice available in the language of individuals who meet the definition of having a language barrier pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b); however, a hospital is not required to make the notice available in more than five languages other than English. (B) (i) The hospital shall, on or before July 1, 2016, and every January 1 thereafter, transmit to the department a copy of the updated policy and shall include a description of its efforts to ensure adequate and speedy communication between patients w
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