While medical interpreters play a key role in bridging the communication gap when physicians and patients don’t speak the same language, what happens when interpreters are not readily available? In many hospitals, telephonic interpreting services are used in place of on-site interpreters whenever necessary. However, there are times when it can be quite challenging to find an interpreter, even on the phone.
MediBabble – An Innovation for Telephonic Medical Interpreting
While rotating through the San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), two senior medical students decided to come up with their own solution to this problem – MediBabble – a free mobile device, medical translation app which can be used to take patient histories.
During normal hours, the SFGH offers interpreting in more than 65 languages using a combination of on-site interpreters, telephone interpreting and a video system all of which provide real-time access within less than five minutes. However, at night and on the weekends, staffing is reduced and waiting times are notoriously longer. Since the majority of diagnosis comes from the patient’s medical history, and time is of the essence, instantaneous and clear communication is critical.
The development of the new medical translation app has made it possible to ask basic medical history questions in the absence of an interpreter. The questions are closed-ended, allowing for simple yes and no answers, and based on identifying symptoms. MediBabble has been programmed to translate over 2,500 exam questions into Russian, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin and Haitian Creole. The languages selected primarily correlate with San Francisco’s demographics. Although not a replacement for trained medical interpreters, it is certainly better than not being able to communicate at all.
Vietnamese Telephonic Interpreting In Boston Hospitals
We regularly provide both on-site and telephonic interpreting services to many hospitals in the Boston area, in instances when a medical translation app is not enough. Recently, we provided Vietnamese telephonic medical interpreting for a large, locally-based provider of orthopedic medical care. The Boston medical facility is located in an area which serves a growing immigrant population – though until now it did not have a significant number of non-native English speakers. Thus, in the absence of on-site medical interpreters, our telephonic interpreting service helped to overcome the communication gap.
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
Language Connections Inc.
2001 Beacon Street, Suite 105,
Boston, MA 02135
Phone: +1-617-731-3510
Email: service@languageconnections.com