top round

Language Interpretation Services

According to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau report, approximately one in five Americans’ primary language is not English, with more than a quarter of these individuals indicating they could not speak English well or at all. With nearly 47 million people with limited English proficiency, it is increasingly important for health care organizations to provide their patients access to interpretation services. In fact, many states have enacted laws that mandate the provision of these services.

It is not possible for hospitals to staff interpreters of every language. Often times, hospitals have to rely on ad hoc or remote interpretation services. As a result, doctors and patients may waste time waiting for a suitable interpreter to be found.  SBR Health provides the solution to easily link interpreters, patients and medical professionals. With a simple click of a button, a doctor can access a database of available interpreters and the languages in which they’re qualified. After selecting the appropriate interpreter, the doctor, patient and interpreter are automatically entered into a conference via televideo. During the conversation, the doctor can access and reference pertinent medical records through the SBR Health platform.

By efficiently linking the hospital’s resources, SBR’s technology helps medical professionals save time and money. Doctors don’t waste their time waiting for a translator to arrive on site, and patients have access to a wider range of resources, resulting in more effective, lasting care.

In a review of 1,000 telemedicine consultations in the University of California, Davis Telemedicine Program, patients vote high levels of satisfaction on a 5-point Likert scale.

Nesbitt et al.’s study, 2000

Solution in practice:

Accessing interpreters on a large medical campus

Problem: Hospitals find it difficult to provide consistent interpretation services and implement a system that can still function in the case of a natural disaster. Interpreters located at a distance find it difficult to reach the main hospital and provide consistent service. Doctors have very busy schedules and may arrive late to see a patient; thus, it can be even more difficult to get doctors, interpreters and patients to physically be in the same location at the same time.

SBR solution:

  • Provide remote access to language interpretation services, automatically routing requests to interpreters
  • Match interpreter skills with real time availability
  • Provide a platform that is capable of functioning independently if existing networks are inoperable
  • Measure success in time saved by efficiently allocating hospital resources