MULTICULTURAL HEALTH: Health Care Translation Business Broadens Focus

      Today's Los Angeles Times features an interview with Richard Antoine, owner of Magnus, a health care translation business. Magnus experienced its initial growth surge when "regulations went into effect that said government-subsidized medical services must be provided in the patients' native language." The company now translates health care forms, patient consent forms, marketing materials, benefit summaries and member communications into Spanish, Russian, Lao, Khmer, Vietnamese and hosts of other languages. Magnus' customers include companies such as Blue Cross, MaxiCare and Delta Dental. Antoine said his company has chosen not to expand nationwide due to cost concerns and because California has by far the largest number of immigrants in the country. Instead, the company has developed related services, such as advertising health care services in languages other than English, with its advertising agency Magnus IA (Klein, 1/6). Click multicultural health for previous coverage of the issue.