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When the patient and caregiver do not share a common language, an interpreter is not always the best solution, and in any case, one cannot be present for every visit, especially in the case of an emergency. According to a questionnaire that was sent to all of the physicians who are members of a health care network for asylum seekers in the Swiss canton of Vaud (n = 169), it appears that 45 % of practitioners found a telephone translation service to be a practical solution, and 58 % would like medical glossaries with phonetic pronunciation and visual illustrations made available. With a response rate of 91 %, it is estimated that these two types of services would be used as often as qualified interpreters, if they were made available. Other translating aids are also proposed.