Alberta Health Services provides professional medical interpreters for patients and families who do not speak English well. The service also supports patients who are Deaf or hard of hearing. It is available across Alberta.
Phone interpreters are available on demand in 240 languages. Video interpreters are available in more than 40 languages. An in-person interpreter may also be arranged with advance notice. Some languages may need to be booked before the appointment.
Tell your AHS healthcare provider that you need an interpreter. This also applies when calling Health Link. Give the provider the name of your language and dialect. The AHS staff member will arrange the phone, video, or in-person interpreter for your conversation.
AHS can also translate medical documents and patient teaching materials. AHS does not recommend using translation apps for medical conversations because the information may not be accurate.
The AHS language website also offers printable language cards. You can bring a card to an AHS healthcare facility to help you request an interpreter.
For questions about accessing this service, email interpretation.services@ahs.ca.
To learn more, visit: AHS Interpretation and Translation Services
To find translated information and printable language cards, visit: Get Health System Information in Your Language