Misunderstandings and Miscommunications Regarding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Code of Professional Conduct for Sign Language Interpreters

Misunderstandings and Miscommunications Regarding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Code of Professional Conduct for Sign Language Interpreters

Jerry Falwell Library, Lower Esbenshade Atrium

Over the years there have been many laws, documents, and standards of conduct enacted to ensure that individuals receive quality treatment regardless of any distinguishing factors that may arise. Among these are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA, and the Code of Professional Conduct (CPC) for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. However, due to differences in personal interpretations or cultural misunderstandings, miscommunications can arise in a medical setting between the healthcare provider, the deaf patient, and the interpreter. Information will be compiled from various sources and includes, but is not limited to, Effective Communication for Persons Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing taken from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Position Statement On Health Care Access for Deaf Patients taken from the National Association of the Deaf, and HIPAA and Language Services in Health Care taken from the National Health Law Program. The purpose of this research is to expound upon HIPAA, the ADA, and the CPC to show the three different perspectives of the Deaf, Hearing, and the Interpreters to better understand where misunderstandings and miscommunications can arise in a medical interpreting situation.