International Journal of Family Medicine

Research Article

Consultations between Immigrant Patients, Their Interpreters, and Their General Practitioners: Are They Real Meetings or Just Encounters? A Qualitative Study in Primary Health Care

Table 4

Effects of the interpretation process and the quality of the patient-GP relationship on the success of a consultation.


(1)
Good interpretation (P + IP)?	Yes*	Successful
Good patient-GP relationship (P + GP)?	Yes**	consultation

(2)
Good interpretation (P + IP)?	No***	Less successful
Good patient-GP relationship (P + GP)?	Yes	consultation

(3)
Good interpretation (P + IP)?	Yes	Less successful
Good patient-GP relationship (P + GP)?	No****	consultation

(4)
Good interpretation (P + IP)?	No*****	Unsuccessful
Good patient-GP relationship (P + GP)?	No******	consultation

A successful consultation embraces good interpretation and a good meeting between patient and GP and may therefore be defined as a real meeting and not just an encounter.
*GP10: “A good interpreter who has extensive experience translates quickly; uses shorter sentences, not very long explanations … without the medical content being compromised.”
**IP7: “… the doctor’s trust towards his patients and patients’ confidence in their doctor … it requires a great deal of patience on both sides….”
***P4: “It has not gone well the times we have had an interpreter. The interpreter could not translate into Swedish.”
****P4: “If I see that the doctor does not understand, then I say that I can see that you do not understand…in that case I have to go to another doctor….”
*****IP7: “…To give a fast interpretation and perhaps over-interpret…due to be flexibility… a tendency to make what patient says better or to over-interpret it….”
******GP5: “… but is it the case when the interpretation is not working you lose the touch….”