Houston’s St. Joseph Medical Center offers Innovative Method to Communicate with Non-English Speaking Patients

St. Joseph Medical Center (http://www.sjmctx.com) recently became Houston’s’ first hospital to use a unique translation system.

A special phone is set up with two handsets, one for the patient and one for the professional.  Based on the language requested, a trained medical interpreter is immediately brought on the line to help the patient and professional communicate.

The phone system is produced by CyraCom (http://www.cyracom.com) and offers interpreters specializing in 150 languages.  The trained interpreters are familiar with medical terminology, which is critical when speaking about healthcare topics.

If the language is not immediately obvious, patients review a card attached to the phone that has questions in their language. They can use this card to select their language.

Every patient room at St. Joseph has one of the phones. The sets are also located in the medical records department, triage and the front desk. There are a total of 400 phones throughout the hospital.

In healthcare, clear and concise communication is critical. This innovative tool helps avoid language-related issues to provide the best care to patients.

************
Edward Leigh, MA, is the Founder and Director of the Center for Healthcare Communication.  The Center focuses on increasing patient satisfaction and decreasing the risk of medical errors. We offer high-impact training, consulting and one-on-one coaching. Contact us today!
http://www.CommunicatingWithPatients.com or 1-800-677-3256

Tags: communication, CyraCom, Healthcare, Hospital, Non-English Speaking, Patients, St. Joseph Medical Center Texas