Dr. Jessica Jue, an Emergency Medicine physician at the University of Washington and Harborview Medical Center, is passionate about improving language access for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). Recognizing that safe discharge instructions are critical to patient outcomes, she explored how machine translation tools may impact patient safety.
Language access is not optional it is a civil right protected under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which requires federally funded institutions to provide meaningful access to care for individuals with limited English proficiency. Ensuring equitable communication is both a legal obligation and a patient safety priority.
As tools like Google Translate and other AI-driven language models become increasingly popular in healthcare settings, it is important to approach them with caution. Dr. Jue conducted a literature review examining the accuracy of machine-generated translations. While studies suggest that Spanish, Chinese, and Portuguese translations tend to be relatively accurate, significantly more errors occur in less commonly spoken languages.
To better understand the local impact, Dr. Jue partnered with the Harborview Medical Center Interpreter Services Department to conduct a small experiment focused on commonly spoken languages at HMC. The translation team was asked to translate phrases that had first been processed through Google Translate and large language models without being shown the original English text.
The results were concerning. Both ChatGPT and Google Translate produced nonsensical phrases and even fabricated words in Amharic, Tigrinya, and Somali. These inaccuracies raise serious patient safety concerns, particularly when discharge instructions contain critical information about medications, wound care, or follow-up appointments. (Examples of these translations can be viewed in the accompanying video.)
Dr. Jue emphasizes:
“At this time, we recommend against using Google Translate and large language models without oversight and verification from a certified translator. The rarer the language, the greater the risk of unsafe, unchecked machine translation.”
The video concludes with clear recommendations for safer practice:
- Review discharge instructions with a qualified phone or video interpreter in real time, in front of the patient.
- Or submit written discharge instructions to a professional medical translation team for review and certification.
- As healthcare systems continue integrating new technologies, this work underscores a crucial reminder: innovation must never compromise patient safety especially for communities that already face barriers to equitable care.