Real-time interpreters break down patients’ language barriers

Published on Thursday, March 29, 2018

By: Ruth Cummins

A University of Mississippi Medical Center patient only speaks Mandarin Chinese. His caregiver only speaks English.

But, a third person is the game-changer who ensures what the patient has to say about his medical condition isn’t lost in translation.

Patients who speak one of 20 foreign languages – and soon, one of 24 – are communicating with their UMMC caregivers through live video remote interpretation. That technology, which began a six-month pilot in July in the hospitals and clinics, is in large part replacing a contract interpreting service that connects a patient and an interpreter via a telephone call.

Tagalog? Nepali? Haitian Creole? Arabic? They can all be translated to and from the patient via tablet.

Spanish is by far the most requested interpretation, but if one of the others is your native tongue, “you can speak to an interpreter at the touch of a button,” 24 hours a day, said Leslye Bastos Ortega, manager of patient advocacy and language services.

The process is similar to using FaceTime on a smartphone. A cart with an arm bearing a Stratus tablet device is rolled to a patient’s bedside or clinic exam table. The tablet screen is positioned so that the patient is looking into it. The patient or caregiver taps a hummingbird logo, then selects a desired language and waits to be connected to Stratus, a service that holds a contract with the Medical Center.

“The interpreter can see into the room, and it’s live,” Bastos Ortega said. “We use this every day.”

The patient will be seen by the interpreter in a “self-view” window on the screen. The interpreter not only speaks to the patient, but can type out what he or she is saying if requested.

“This might seem more of a luxury item, but it definitely brings relief to a patient, especially when they see that the interpreter can see them,” Bastos said.

Bastos, whose parents were born in Brazil, speaks Portuguese, a language included in the video interpretation service. When Brazilian native Regina Wyatt came to the School of Dentistry on Monday for work on her teeth, Bastos wheeled the video interpretation equipment to Wyatt’s chair. Wyatt got a two-fer: Live conversations both with Bastos and the video interpreter.

As Bastos watched, third-year dental student Kendra Clark handled the process with ease, telling the interpreter details about the procedures Wyatt needs. The interpreter repeated Clark’s words back to Wyatt, who spoke in response.

“You have the option with a crown to have a tooth-colored crown or a gold crown,” Clark told Wyatt through the interpreter. “Natural,” Wyatt replied, indicating she wanted one to match her tooth.

“Every place I go, I’d love to have this same system,” Wyatt said through the interpreter. “It brings a lot of calmness” to non-English speakers.

The Joint Commission requires hospitals in the United States to provide interpretive language and translation services. Having the best language program possible at your institution gives the best benefit to patients and caregivers, said Patrice Donald, director of patient and family advocacy.

“One metric that probably every hospital can improve on is communication,” Donald said. The device “is the tool that helps to bridge the gap for our limited English proficiency population and has brought comfort to families.”

And that improves both the patient and caregiver experience, Donald said. “It’s a win-win,” she said.

About 22 of the devices are available throughout the hospitals and clinics. The Medical Center also employs three Spanish interpreters and a liaison with the Choctaw Band of Indians. There’s also access to American Sign Language interpreters.

Registered nurse Kimberly Glass has used the video system with orthopaedics patients in the Pavilion. “It’s very user-friendly,” Glass said. “You just have to push a button, and it shows all the languages. You push one and wait for someone to come on. They’re pretty quick about coming on.”

Glass scans the appointment list to glean on the front end what patients would benefit from the service. Then, she signs out one of the video systems. “It’s very convenient for new patients, and getting their information,” she said. “Usually, patients are pretty good at collaborating with their doctor and the person on the video.”

“It’s so important for patients to receive effective communication,” Bastos Ortega said. “Otherwise, that can lead to adverse events.

“We want to make sure patients understand their treatment, benefits and risks before they sign a consent. Our policy is always to use an interpreter to prevent miscommunication or misunderstandings.”

Top languages requested for interpretation at UMMC: American Sign Language, Arabic, Cantonese, Choctaw, Chuj, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi, Spanish and Vietnamese.

Languages provided in video interpretation: American Sign Language, Arabic, Armenian, Bosnian, Burmese, Certified Deaf Interpretation/American Sign Language, Cantonese, French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Korean, Mandarin, Nepali, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. Soon to be added: Bengali, Swahili, Karen and Japanese.