Most scheduling tools can tell you that an interpreter was booked. Fewer can prove that the interpreter was present, for how long, and in what modality, in a form that survives an audit. A session record is the document that does that. This explains what it contains, how attestation works, and why the difference matters.
What is a session record?
A session record is created when a Lingfaro session ends. It is the authoritative account of what took place, and it contains:
- The interpreter’s identity.
- The credentials that were active for that interpreter at the time of the session, such as MDH or court roster status, CMI, CCHI, RID, or BEI.
- The modality used: on-site, in-person interpreting.
- Timestamps for the session.
- The two-party attestation from the interpreter and the client.
Recording the credentials as they stood at the time of the session matters. A credential that later expires does not retroactively change what was true on the day. The record fixes that fact in place, which is exactly what an auditor or a court file needs.
What does two-party attestation mean?
Attestation is the step that turns a finished encounter into a verified record. Two parties confirm the same set of facts independently.
The interpreter attests that the session happened, for the duration they worked, in the modality booked. The client (the requesting coordinator or staff member on the institution’s side) attests to the same facts. When both confirm and the accounts agree, the record is complete.
If the two accounts disagree (for example, the duration each side reports does not match) the record is flagged for operator review rather than silently absorbed. That review step is what keeps the record honest when memories or notes differ.
For a shorter definition you can link colleagues to, see the attestation glossary entry.
Why does this matter for billing accuracy?
Billing follows attestation. The duration both parties confirm is the duration that flows to the invoice. Because the interpreter is paid and the client is billed off the same agreed record, there is one set of numbers rather than two. Clients pay the platform on monthly statements, net-30 by default. Interpreters are paid via Stripe Connect, typically within days of a completed, attested session.
The practical effect is that disputes get caught at the source. A disagreement about how long a session ran is surfaced and resolved before the invoice is finalized, instead of turning into a billing correction weeks later.
Why does it matter for compliance documentation?
Language-access obligations come with a documentation burden, and the documentation is what gets tested when a reviewer shows up. A signed, tamper-evident session record gives institutions something concrete to produce in several situations:
- A Joint Commission tracer, where a surveyor follows a patient’s encounter and asks how qualified interpretation was provided and recorded.
- A Section 1557 or OCR inquiry, where the question is whether a recipient of federal funds provided meaningful access and can show it.
- A court file, where the record documents interpreter identity, credentials, and the proceeding.
- MDH LEP plan documentation, where a health program needs to show its language-access practices in operation.
Because the records export as JSON and PDF, an institution can pull the relevant sessions by date range, language, or department and hand over a clean file rather than reconstructing one from calendars and emails.
What does each side actually do?
The flow is short, and the responsibilities are split clearly. This sits at the end of the dispatch sequence described in how Lingfaro dispatch works.
The interpreter checks in at the start of the session, works the encounter, and at the end confirms that it happened, how long it ran, and in which modality. That confirmation is the interpreter’s attestation.
The client confirms the same facts from their side. Once both have attested and the accounts agree, the record is finalized, the invoice is set, and the interpreter’s payout proceeds. Neither side has to assemble anything after the fact; the record is the byproduct of completing the session correctly.
How does this fit the larger picture?
A session record is one piece of how Lingfaro keeps the dispatch and billing chain accountable. Patient information stays out of dispatch briefs through a PHI scanner, interpreters get clinical or case context on arrival from the institution, and the completed-session record closes the loop with a verifiable account of who interpreted and for how long.
If you want the controls and documentation practices in one place, the trust page covers how Lingfaro handles security and records, and the compliance page maps the records to the specific obligations institutions answer to. Together they show where the session record fits: as the durable, two-party-confirmed evidence that an encounter was interpreted, by a credentialed interpreter, in the modality booked.