Member Languages and Interpreters
Serving Members Better by Speaking Their Language
Treating the whole patient – not only their conditions – is a major component of delivering quality healthcare. Oklahoma Complete Health offers you information and tools to help make that possible.
Member Demographics And Our Members
Oklahoma Complete Health's threshold languages include:
- Spanish
- Vietnamese
- Chinese
- Korean
- German
- Burmese
- Hmong
- Tagalog
- French
- Laotian
- Thai
- Urdu
- Cherokee
- Persian
Working With Interpreters in Your Practice
To request an on-demand telephonic interpreter, please call 1-833-752-1664 for SoonerSelect or 1-833-752-1665 for Children’s Specialty Program and provide your patient’s Member ID number.
Not sure of your patient’s language? Click on “Language Assistance” in the footer at the bottom of our website and have the member point to their language. If it’s not listed, you can work with the interpreter service to identify the right language.
Using the speakerphone function is recommended for communication efficiency between you, your patient and the interpreter.
Providers that use bilingual staff to communicate with patients must ensure that bilingual staff can interpret effectively, accurately, and to and from the language of the patient and English, using any necessary specialized vocabulary terminology and phraseology.
Providers are strongly encouraged to document in the medical record the use of family, friends and minors as interpreters. If an interpreter is offered and the patient declines, the provider should also document this in the medical record.
All participating Oklahoma Complete Health providers are required to comply with certain interpreter requirements.
- Providers must ensure that bilingual staff who act as interpreters are qualified and meet quality standards, which includes documentation that the staff member’s proficiency was assessed.
- Patients can never be required to bring their own interpreters.
- Minors may not interpret, even if their parent or other relative consents, unless there is an emergency and there is not a qualified interpreter immediately available.
- An accompanying adult may interpret if the patient agrees and if it is appropriate to the situation.
