Professional interpretation at admission or discharge lowers 30-day readmission for LEP inpatients

Narrative synthesis #

LEP inpatients who received professional interpretation at admission and/or discharge were less likely to be readmitted within 30 days than those who received no interpretation, after adjusting for age, gender, severity, language, and length of stay. The unadjusted gradient (24.3% readmitted with no interpreter vs 14.9% with interpreters on both days) supports the same direction.

"The likelihood of a patient being admitted within 30 days of discharge seems to be associated with having an interpreter at either admission and/or discharge." (Lindholm, 2012, p. 1299)