Intoxicating Error: Mistranslation, Medical Malpractice, and Prejudice

This book ranks with Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down! Price-Wise shows how the misinterpretation of a single word was a critical factor in a young athlete becoming a quadriplegic. She also illustrates how the physicians’ lack of self-awareness regarding their own cultural biases caused them to miss pertinent information and draw the wrong medical conclusions. These exemplify both the need for professionally trained medical interpreters and for cultural competence training. A must read for everyone in healthcare!Suzanne Salimbene, Ph.D., author, What Language Does Your Patient Hurt In? A Practical Guide to Culturally Competent Patient Care, 3rd ed. Paradigm Publishing

Congratulations to Gail Price-Wise for all her arduous work in putting together this very clear and well-written book on this very American tragedy.

I am a certified Spanish medical interpreter working as an independent contractor in California, and the horrifically dangerous situation described in this book still occurs on a daily basis all over America. How many times have I arrived at an appointment and been told my services were not needed, because the patient had arrived early and was seen by the doctor with a family member or administrative staff person acting as the interpreter? In one of these situations, the patient ended up having her fallopian tubes removed as a means of birth control without ever knowing that her husband could have simply had a vasectomy. The patient told me that her 15 year-old daughter hadn't understood the words the doctor was using, and was very embarrassed about repeating sexually-related comments to her parents, so there were parts of the doctor's explanations that she simply hadn't repeated. There are laws in place that guarantee Limited English Proficient patients have qualified interpreters at every medical appointment.The medical community needs to stop taking linguistic issues so lightly. Just because someone "speaks Spanish" does not mean they are qualified to interpret for others.