How to hire a medical interpreter for an IME or medical encounter

Scheduling a medical interpreter looks simple until something goes wrong. The interpreter is the wrong specialty. They do not show up. They are not certified. The IME doctor cannot get a clean exam. The case manager is on the phone trying to find a replacement at 8:55 AM. This article exists to prevent that scenario.

Six questions to ask the agency

• What is the interpreter's medical-interpreter credential? Expect CCHI (Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters) or an equivalently-recognized credential. CCHI is NCCA-accredited; treat it as the strongest current medical certification.
• How many years of medical-interpreter experience does this interpreter have, and what specialties?
• Have they interpreted in this specialty before? An orthopedic IME, a psychological evaluation, and a workers-comp panel QME each have very different terminology and pace.
• Will the same interpreter be available for any follow-up or rescheduled appointment? Continuity matters more than buyers realize.
• How quickly will the agency replace the interpreter if they fall ill or have a conflict?
• Who is the Project Manager on this assignment and how do I reach them in real time?

Six things to confirm before the appointment

• Written confirmation of the interpreter's name, credential, language, dialect (where relevant), date, time, and location.
• Dialect match. Cuban Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Puerto Rican Spanish, and Castilian Spanish all share a language but use different terminology in clinical settings. For ASL, confirm whether you need ASL, a Deaf Interpreter, or Mexican Sign Language.
• For workers-comp specifically: confirm the interpreter is comfortable with AME and panel QME terminology and the workers-comp report format.
• Pre-share documents the interpreter will need to read (intake forms, prior medical records). A prepared interpreter is significantly faster and more accurate.
• Arrival time at the venue. AMS interpreters typically arrive 15 minutes before the appointment to confirm logistics with the physician's office.
• Backup phone number for same-day rescheduling.

Common mistakes

• Letting a family member interpret. The Willie Ramirez case is the canonical warning: a single mistranslation can cost lives and tens of millions in malpractice settlement.
• Using a bilingual clinic staff member as the de facto interpreter. Federal language-access guidance under Title VI and Section 1557 treats this as inappropriate unless that staff member has documented medical-interpreter training and credentials.
• Booking the wrong language. "Chinese" can mean Mandarin, Cantonese, or several other varieties; the interpreter needs to match the patient's actual language, not the language on the file.
• Underestimating the duration. Psychological evaluations routinely run three to four hours; AMEs run 60 to 120 minutes. Booking only the minimum increment leads to overtime billing.
• Skipping the confirmation step. A verbal "we will send someone" is not a confirmation. Always require written confirmation with the interpreter's name and credential.

When in doubt

Call AMS at (800) 919-2029 with the date, time, location, language, and specialty. Our scheduling team will confirm the right interpreter and pre-share documents to ensure preparation. AMS has been scheduling medical interpretation nationwide since 1999.