On the occasion of today’s Human Rights Day, the Berlin Medical Association is campaigning for the nationwide coverage of the costs of language mediation in medical care by the statutory health insurance (GKV). A mutual linguistic and cultural understanding between doctors and patients is seen as the basis for equal treatment. In addition to professional interpreters, modern AI solutions are also to be used as cost-efficient support.

The Medical Association sees a lack of language mediation opportunities as a structural disadvantage for migrants, refugees and people with limited knowledge of German. Without financial security, access to health care remains unequal. Studies show that the absence of professional interpreters reduces the standard of care and increases the risk of misunderstandings, incorrect diagnoses, discontinuation of therapy or lack of adherence.

The anchoring of language mediation – including digital tools and AI applications – in the Social Security Code V (SGB V) is considered necessary to improve care. Digital voice mediation could optimize the situation quickly and cost-effectively, but requires binding standards for secure use, for example in terms of data protection.

Concrete demands

The required extension of SGB V includes:

1. A right to language mediation for all patients.
2. To provide a free, telephone, multilingual translation service for hospitals and practices.

Professional interpreters and interculturally trained language mediators improve communication, reduce errors and increase safety. A legal regulation would create standards and qualification requirements. In addition, transparent recommendations for the use of digital tools are demanded, which are currently often used without clear guidelines. Properly integrated, these technologies could efficiently support care.

The initiative aims to sustainably improve health care for linguistically disadvantaged groups and provides a basis for further legal measures.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

Gender Notice. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple naming and gendered designations are used for better readability. ected.