Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #115344

Janice Chin, MPH, Alameda County Medical Center, 1411 East 31st Street, Oakland, CA 94602, 510 432 9795, Jchin@acmedctr.org, Bruce N. Occena, MPH, MBA, Health Access Foundation, 414 13th Street #450, Oakland, CA 94612, and Gloria Garcia-Orme, RN, MA, San Francico General Hospital, 1001 Potrero Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94103.

Rising health care costs and increasing numbers of diverse LEP populations are challenging factors in providing language access in public hospital settings throughout the nation. According to the 2003 U.S. Census, Alameda County Medical Center (ACMC) and San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) are located in two the nation's counties with the highest numbers of foreign born residents and residents (over the age of 5 years old) that speak a language other than English at the home. Both ACMC and SFGH have “mature” interpreter service departments and have successfully integrated video conferencing technology into their existing operations, which also include in-person and telephonic interpretation.

The implementation of a video modality for medical interpretation, coupled with reorganization towards stationary interpreter staff, has established evidenced based results of increased access to language services. Through the integration of video-conferenced interpretation, both of these public hospital organizations have been able to achieve an economy of scale, which positively affects structural inefficiencies of traditional in-person interpretation, primarily travel time and interpreter waiting time. Preliminary comparative data between video interpretation and in-person interpretation has shown an increased efficiency of 100%, dramatically affecting the productivity of interpreters and increasing the capacity of existing resources.

Drawing from a full range of experience at both hospitals, highlighted points will include potential economical costs savings from video-conferenced exchange of language resources between two hospital systems and the implications on improved quality of heath care for LEP populations through increased access to professionally trained medical interpreters.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify 3 major efficiencies achieved by integration of a video based interpreting modality.
• Describe 5 major components to of implementing a video conferenced interpreting program to increase language access.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.