Studies have shown that language barriers may have serious consequences in a health care setting for a patient.
Increased risk of bias, misdiagnoses, prolonged hospital stay and unneccessary exminations are some of the many consequences of language barriers (even if other factors can also contribute). Qualified medical interpreters therefore play a vital role in these scenarios.
In my experience; as a medical doctor and polyglot, medical interpreters are not always available or suitable in all circumstances. This often leads to heavy reliance on improvised body language, family members (sometimes even their children) communicating on behalf of the patient, or health care workers having to translate for the patient.
But what about patient confidentiality, and the mere fact that health care workers are not trained/qualified interpreters?
In Sweden, however, there is actually another option available to solve this problem…
To find out more… welcome to my presentation at the Polyglot Gathering!

Jonatan Haile is a polyglot born in Sweden. He speaks 7 languages to various degrees (Swedish, English, Spanish, Hungarian, Russian, Tigrinya and Arabic), and has lived and studied in Granada (Spain) and Pécs (Hungary). His love for languages is connected to cultural immersion and he has often found musical artists as the source of inspiration (Silvio Rodriguez, Vladimir Vysotsky, Cseh Tamás). Jonatan works as a medical doctor and regards the patient interactions the most stimulating and fulfilling part of his job.

This video was recorded at the Polyglot Gathering 2023 (https://www.polyglotgathering.com).