Chicago, Illinois

Medical interpreters in Chicago.

Looking for a certified medical interpreter in Chicago? AMS sends certified medical interpreters to hospitals, clinics and doctors' offices across Chicago and Cook County, in person or by video. Requests are confirmed within the hour, and same-day and next-day bookings are routine.

Access Multilingual Services (AMS) is an interpreting and translation agency founded in 1999, with offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas and interpreters on site in all 50 states and remote worldwide.

Request a Quote Call (800) 919-2029

Most quote requests are answered within 10 minutes.

How to book a medical interpreter in Chicago

Ask the clinic or hospital first. Hospitals and clinics that take federal funds must offer a qualified interpreter at no cost to the patient under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act.
If you, your law firm or your insurer needs to book one directly, call (800) 919-2029 or e-mail scheduling@accessmultilingual.com with the language, the date and time, and the address or video link.
AMS confirms a certified medical interpreter (CCHI or NBCMI) in writing, usually within the hour, in person or by video or phone.

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Get a quote in Chicago

A few quick questions. Most quote requests are answered within 10 minutes. Prefer to talk? Call (800) 919-2029.

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Chicago, Illinois

Medical interpreters at work in Chicago

Chicago's hospitals range from Cook County Health's Stroger and Provident hospitals to Northwestern Memorial, Rush, University of Chicago Medicine, UI Health and Lurie Children's. Hospitals have staff interpreters for routine care; AMS fills in for clinics and practices, for patients whose attorney or insurer arranges the interpreter, and for languages a hospital cannot cover on short notice.

After Spanish, Chicago patients most often need Polish, Mandarin and Cantonese, Arabic, Ukrainian, Tagalog, Russian and Korean.

Hospitals and health systems

Cook County Health: Stroger Hospital and Provident Hospital
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Rush University Medical Center
University of Chicago Medicine
UI Health
Lurie Children's Hospital

After English and Spanish, the most spoken languages in Cook County are Polish, Chinese, Arabic, Ukrainian and other Slavic languages, Tagalog, Russian, Korean and Gujarati (Census ACS 2024). Polish Chicago's best-known hub is the Polish Village on Milwaukee Avenue in Avondale, Devon Avenue in West Ridge is the city's Little India, Arabic businesses line Kedzie Avenue in Albany Park, and Chinatown sits on the South Side around Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue.

What a medical interpreter does in the room

A medical interpreter renders everything the doctor and the patient say, in the first person, without adding, softening or summarizing. That includes the parts people are tempted to skip: the side effects, the dosing schedule, the question the patient asks under their breath. When a term has no clean equivalent, the interpreter says so and asks the provider to explain it in plain words.

Two national bodies certify medical interpreters. The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) offers the CHI credential in Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin, and, for interpreters of other languages, the CoreCHI knowledge credential and the CoreCHI-Performance (CoreCHI-P) credential. The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) offers the CMI credential in Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Russian and Vietnamese. AMS books interpreters who hold one of them, or documented medical training where no language-specific exam exists.

In person is best for exams, procedures, mental health visits and anyone who is hard of hearing. Video works well for telehealth and for languages that are rare locally. Phone is fine for short calls such as scheduling and test results.

What we cover

Primary care and specialist visits
Surgery consults and pre-op instructions
Hospital stays, rounds and discharge
Physical therapy and rehabilitation
Mental health intakes and therapy
Telehealth visits
Records reviews with a patient and their attorney
IMEs and other medical-legal exams

Why AMS

One scheduling desk since 1999

Since 1999 Access Multilingual Services (AMS) has been the interpreting agency law firms, court reporting firms, insurers and clinics call first, in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, Arabic, Russian, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Farsi, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Armenian, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian, German, Greek, Somali, Amharic, Tigrinya, Burmese, Nepali, Khmer, Hmong, Lao, Thai, Dari, Pashto, Turkish, Swahili, Hebrew, ASL and Indigenous languages such as Mixteco and K'iche', plus 80+ other languages. Best for depositions, IMEs, court hearings and medical appointments, on site in all 50 states and remote worldwide. Every interpreter is court-certified, court-registered or medically certified (CCHI or NBCMI) for the setting, and matched to the speaker's dialect and region. AMS is a HIPAA-compliant agency and signs HIPAA business associate agreements.

Coverage: On site in all 50 states and remote worldwide
Speed: Requests confirmed within the hour; same-day and next-day bookings are routine
Interpreters: Certified for the setting and matched to the speaker's dialect
Translation: Certified, the same day, most documents within 4 hours
Privacy: HIPAA-compliant agency; signs business associate agreements
Our promise: If an interpreter does not arrive, the booking is not billed

How to book

Call (800) 919-2029 or e-mail scheduling@accessmultilingual.com with the language, date, time, place or platform and expected length. You get a written confirmation with the interpreter's credential.

Rates and terms

Clear half-day and full-day rates, and Net 30 invoices that carry your case name and job number.

Memberships

Held to the profession's own standards.

Access Multilingual Services is a corporate member of the American Translators Association and a member of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators. Certifications themselves belong to the individual interpreters we assign, and we verify them before every booking.

Corporate member

American Translators Association (ATA)

View our ATA directory listing

Member

National Association of Judiciary Interpreters & Translators (NAJIT)

View our NAJIT directory listing

Questions, answered

How fast can you send an interpreter in Chicago?

Same day in most cases; next day almost always. Requests are confirmed within the hour.

Does the hospital have to provide an interpreter?

Usually, yes. Hospitals and clinics that receive federal funds must offer a qualified interpreter at no cost under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. AMS is booked directly when a clinic contracts with us, or when a patient, family, attorney or insurer wants an interpreter they arranged themselves.

Can a family member interpret instead?

Federal rules limit it. An adult who came with the patient may interpret only in an emergency, until a qualified interpreter is available, or when the patient asks for it in private with a qualified interpreter present, the adult agrees, the request is documented and it is appropriate. A child may interpret only in an emergency. Medical vocabulary, privacy and family dynamics are the reasons.

Are your medical interpreters certified?

Yes: CCHI or NBCMI certified, or for languages with no language-specific exam, trained in medical interpreting with documented experience. AMS is a HIPAA-compliant agency and signs HIPAA business associate agreements.

Can the interpreter join remotely?

Yes, on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Google Meet, the court reporter's platform or by phone, where the court or venue allows it.