I’ve spent the past year listening to clinicians, executives, and front-desk staff wrestle with the same question: how do we deliver cost-effective, compliant care to our patient population that prefers a language other than English? To move past anecdotes, we surveyed 277 U.S. healthcare professionals across primary care clinics, hospitals, public health agencies, ambulatory centers, and long-term care facilities. Their answers point to where interpreter services succeed today, and where limited-English-proficient (LEP) patients still fall through the cracks.
In this blog, I’ll share the top medical interpreting trends in 2025 that are helpful to care and language service providers from our new Healthcare Report.
Half of practices experience an interpreter gap
Fifty percent of healthcare organizations shared that they had delivered care to an LEP patient in the past 12 months without an interpreter. The gap isn’t a lack of tools. Most respondents have on-demand phone, video, or bilingual staff available, but workflow friction and budget constraints let some patients slip by. For them, that can mean misunderstanding consent, meds, or follow-up instructions.
In a recent webinar on takeaways from the healthcare report, Julie Mills, CNE, and Solutions Consultant at Boostlingo, pointed out that this number is likely larger. If we had asked if organizations provided interpreting to an LEP patient throughout the patient journey, she predicted the number would be greater.
If there’s one takeaway from this report, it is the conversation about filling the gap and covering more parts of the care continuum with language support. On-demand interpreting offers 24/7 support and access to 300 languages. What’s stopping us from using this?
Cost tops the barrier list (44%)
When we asked, “What limits your ability to provide on-demand interpreter services?” The #1 answer was cost, followed by EHR/telehealth integration hurdles (29%) and inconsistent staff adoption (19%). That tells us price pressure is real, but hidden process costs, slow log-ins, lack of single-click dialing, and training gaps also drain budgets and clinician time.
EHR flags exist but some go unused
56% of organizations now have a standardized LEP identifier in their EHR, yet only 59% of those teams always use it. Others apply the flag “sometimes” or “never,” especially when a patient lists a non-English language but is conversational in English. Without a reliable “needs-interpreter” flag, automating both language support and tracking is difficult.
LEP outcome tracking is sparse
Three out of four providers don’t track LEP outcomes as a unique cohort; only 16% link interpreter use to readmissions, LOS, or patient-satisfaction improvements. Until organizations connect interpreting metrics to quality dashboards, proving financial value or spotting safety gaps remains guesswork.
We recently shared a guide for quality leaders to track LEP outcomes, if you’re interested.
Demand for medical interpreting is growing
Despite loosened language access guidance and shifting immigration policy this year, 92% of respondents expect interpreting volumes to hold or grow in 2025, and 58% predict a clear increase. Therefore, future-proofing interpreter programs isn’t optional, especially given the current interpreter gap.
Medical interpreters beyond the exam room
Seventy percent of organizations rely on interpreters for non-clinical conversations like registration, billing, appointment-setting, and discharge, touchpoints where misunderstandings can derail care plans or revenue cycles. Yet 30% still handle these conversations without language support, underscoring the need for always-on access.
AI interpreting is gaining trust, but with guardrails
Fifty-five percent of respondents say AI interpreting is appropriate today, most often for administrative or low-risk clinical tasks like scheduling, check-ins, or patient education. Confidence drops for clinical encounters, with (27%) of those who said yes saying it‘s appropriate in all situations. This number is higher than expected, though, showing that the risk vs. reward of AI interpreting, filling in gaps, and improving efficiency in healthcare is shifting its balance.
Closing the interpreter gap in healthcare
Julie Mills ended our webinar with actionable advice for healthcare organizations.
Many providers still patch together interpretation with a few on-site staff, spreadsheets, and outside call services, so coverage is uneven and hard to track. Closing the gap starts by weaving language support into every step of care, from check-in to follow-up texts, through tools that launch in seconds on the devices teams already use. When access is this smooth, staff adopt it, and hardware or software costs become easier to justify.
Health leaders also need hard numbers. By flagging limited-English-proficient patients in the EHR and logging every interpreted interaction, organizations can study this group as its own cohort, compare outcomes, and measure costs saved through fewer readmissions. Clear, searchable data turns language access from a “nice-to-have” into an evidence-backed program that wins budget support and drives better care.
Get the report
Interpreter gaps persist, but there is a path forward: automate LEP identification, integrate language support into every step of care, and measure outcomes by LEP cohort. I’ve included links below for you to download the report or watch the webinar.
Download the full 2025 Healthcare Interpreting Report.
Watch our on-demand webinar for a breakdown of the report.
Are you looking to work with experts to upgrade your language support program? Book a personalized demo with our team today.
