HSS perioperative Language Service program

Purpose #

A hospital-wide language-services program at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) that provides translation and language-concordant materials to LEP patients across the perioperative pathway. The authors hypothesize it helps equalize the preoperative experience — including discussion of anesthetic options such as regional anesthesia — and may be part of why they observed no language-based disparity in RA utilization.

Mechanism #

Provides interpretation during preoperative clinic appointments, generates language-specific after-visit summaries, and ensures translation in the perioperative period on the day of surgery; available to patients throughout the 2016–2023 study period. Preoperative encounters conducted in the patient's preferred language routinely include discussion of anesthetic options (which would mention RA).

"Another key factor that likely influences the preoperative experience for LEP patients at our institution is the Language Service program. This program provides translation services during preoperative appointments with language-specific after-visit summaries, as well as ensuring translation in the perioperative period on the day of surgery. This service was available to patients throughout the study period." (Sabra, 2025, p. 996)

"Though we do not have access to the conversations our surgical colleagues or preoperative clinic physicians had with patients, these frequently involve discussion of anesthetic options, which would have included mention of RA, and are conducted in patients' preferred language. It is possible that these services play a role in mitigating differences seen in RA utilization for LEP patients." (Sabra, 2025, p. 996)

Example(s) #

Deployed at the Hospital for Special Surgery (New York) as part of routine perioperative care for total hip and knee replacement patients, 2016–2023. Interpreter modality was recorded as in-person (most common), telephone, or video.