Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is one of the largest not-for-profit Medicare-Medicaid public health plans in the U.S., serving over 1.6 million members across Southern California. Committed to its mission to “heal and inspire the human spirit,” IEHP continuously seeks innovative ways to improve healthcare access for its diverse and multilingual member population.
While IEHP has offered interpreter services for years, requests for an interpreter had to be submitted at least five days in advance. This delay became increasingly impractical as the community IEHP serves grew more diverse.
Additionally, federal law prohibits the use of family members as interpreters, except in emergencies, underscoring the need for qualified, on-site staff.
To address this gap, IEHP sought a proactive solution that would empower healthcare providers to communicate directly and effectively with patients in their preferred language. By equipping bilingual medical staff with professional interpreting skills and certification, IEHP aimed to reduce reliance on external interpreters, improve patient outcomes, and enhance the overall healthcare experience.
The Solution: A Partnership with LanguageLine
IEHP partnered with LanguageLine to implement the Provider Medical Interpretation (PMI) program, a first-of-its-kind pilot initiative designed to train and certify bilingual provider staff in medical interpretation.
The program leverages LanguageLine’s Testing & Training Solution, which offers:
- Language proficiency testing in 55 languages
- Customized interpreter training programs to ensure accuracy, professionalism, and compliance with healthcare standards
- Flexible delivery options, including in-person, phone, and online training
The first PMI program cohort, which ran from October to December, enrolled over 120 provider staff, including nurses, medical assistants, and administrative personnel. With overwhelmingly positive feedback, IEHP plans to launch additional cohorts throughout the year.
Implementation: Training and Certification Pathways
PMI participants had the flexibility to complete their training either in person or online, ensuring accessibility for provider offices across IEHP’s network. The program has two assessment tracks, allowing providers to select the best fit for their staff’s role and responsibilities:
The PMI program provided two distinct assessment tracks tailored to different roles within healthcare settings:
- Interpretation Assessments were designed for staff responsible for interpreting between patients and medical professionals. These included the eInterpreter Skills Test (eIST) and the Medical Certification Test (MCT), with successful candidates qualifying as language-certified interpreters.
- For staff engaging in direct patient communication, Language Assessments were available. These consisted of the eBilingual Fluency Assessment (eBFA) and the eBilingual Fluency Assessment for Clinicians (eBFAC), ensuring that bilingual providers could effectively communicate with patients in their preferred language.
Program Benefits Patients and Hospital Staff
In 2024, 24 percent of IEHP’s Medi-Cal members and 34 percent of DualChoice members selected Spanish as their preferred language. By leveraging LanguageLine’s expertise, IEHP is empowering its provider network to serve its diverse community with confidence and cultural competence.
In fact, the PMI program has been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from participants and providers alike. According to Natzary Rosales-Garcia, a medical assistant at Metropolitan Clinic in Rialto, where 95 percent of patients are native Spanish speakers, the training significantly improved patient interactions.
“The biggest benefit of the program is learning how to accurately interpret medical terminology from English to Spanish,” Rosales-Garcia said. “Sometimes it’s hard to translate exact symptoms because they are different from one language to another, but our trainer is helping us understand words we can and should use. That helps a lot.”
Transforming Patient Experience
By equipping provider staff with certified interpreting skills, the PMI program is transforming the patient experience in meaningful ways.
With trained bilingual professionals readily available, wait times for interpreter services are significantly reduced, allowing patients to receive timely and accurate care without unnecessary delays.
The program also ensures compliance with federal regulations, reinforcing the importance of professional medical interpretation and eliminating the reliance on family members or unqualified staff.
Beyond logistics and compliance, the impact extends to the heart of healthcare—strengthening patient-provider relationships. When patients can communicate directly with their caregivers in their preferred language, trust deepens, misunderstandings decrease, and care becomes more personalized. Ultimately, this leads to improved health outcomes, ensuring that non-English-speaking patients receive the same level of clarity, respect, and quality care as their English-speaking counterparts.
About LanguageLine Testing & Training
LanguageLine Testing & Training provides industry-leading solutions for measuring and developing the language skills of bilingual staff and interpreters. Our programs focus on:
- Ensuring accuracy and professionalism in medical interpretation
- Training on the Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice
- Flexible delivery options to accommodate healthcare professionals’ schedules
With nearly 20,000 training sessions conducted last year, LanguageLine continues to be a trusted partner in building confident, qualified multilingual teams.
We invite you to contact us for a free quote and to learn more about how LanguageLine Testing and Training might benefit your organization.