The Importance of Language Translation in Healthcare
In today’s multicultural world filled with people from different races, ethnic groups and linguistic backgrounds, effective communication has now become a challenge. These days, understanding medical lingo as an English-speaking patient can be a challenge, even under the care of an English-speaking doctor. As for patients where there’s a potential language barrier at play, an accurate understanding of interpretation and translation is exceptionally crucial for all the stakeholders.
The healthcare system primarily relies on the use of face-to-face interpreters, but this has proven to have its own set of pros and cons. In an emergency medical situation, urgency is critical. Throw in the time it takes to organise an interpreter and there’s going to be a delay.
There are cases where the treating physician decides the patient can speak enough English and the interpreter must go home without working. Often the hospital will still be billed for the booking. On other occasions, an interpreter has not been booked and the hospital must ring around and ask for someone to get there as soon as possible to help interpret.
FACT: Studies show the impact of language barriers on healthcare. LEP (limited English proficiency) patients have a much greater chance of readmission and a longer hospital stay.
Some hospitals are set up with a language services company, where a landline phone dials straight through to a language services company who will either find an interpreter to send to the hospital, or the doctor will use an interpreter over the phone. There are often long wait times while the company finds an available interpreter, because nothing was booked before the appointment.
KP International Translators has developed an on-demand system where hospital staff can call an interpreter on any device including landline, mobile or tablet, at any time. Instead of the request coming back to the team at KPIT, it goes straight to their team of qualified interpreters who are ready and waiting to take on-demand calls. This direct process cuts out the middle man, saves time and provides immediate communication between the doctor and the patient.
No booking required
Great for emergency cases or saving time if a doctor is running late and doesn’t have time to wait for an interpreter to arrive on-site.
Confidentiality is paramount
Data sovereignty is taken very seriously. The KPIT team follow strict policies when it comes to patient confidentiality.
Usage can be tracked easily
Hospital staff can track their usage and expenditure on their computer with complete transparency and efficiency. This full visibility ensures the staff member has control over how much they want to use and spend.
No contracts
Just like the good old fashion payphone, the hospital pays for each minute on a call, with no lock-in contracts or subscriptions needed. There are no hidden fees or monthly costs; you only pay for the duration of the service that was required.
Our interpreters
A professional medical translator doesn’t just translate words or text, he/she localises it, so the integrity of the message is the same during translation. Our dedicated team are skilled, personable and passionate about what they do, and are exceptionally vigilant.
Proper diagnosis is difficult when doctors and other healthcare advisors don’t speak the same language as the patient. The consequences could be as serious as errors in diagnosis, mistreatment or fatality. When patients can communicate effectively with healthcare providers, they are more likely to be diagnosed and treated correctly and can follow after-care programs.
When it comes to an industry as important as healthcare, the need for competent linguists is even higher. Why? Because it involves irreplaceable human lives.