Increase in the number of interpreter booking for hospital has brought along few challenges for the healthcare industry, which are understanding the operational aspects of the delivery of language services, the barriers to accessing care, the financial challenges associated with operating various components of language services, and the organizational and cultural issues that drive elements of the service.
Managing interpreter bookings can be a very dynamic and ever-changing process with thousands of bookings which can, in turn, mean thousands of changes. Language departments do an amazing job, sometimes managing over a 100 different languages. Coordinating this process can be resource intensive and demanding. At times, language service departments have not been equipped with the right tools to manage bookings, predict trends or foresee demands. One of the main reasons why a Language Service Department would adopt interpreter scheduling system, would be to increase their efficiency. Efficiency is crucial for saving time, money, increasing employee productivity and increasing the quality of service you provide.
Following steps will help hospitals to efficiently manage their language service department
• using patient management systems that link directly to the interpreter scheduling system will improve wait times for interpreters and allows interpreter services managers to anticipate resource needs across scheduled and unscheduled visits, integration is a key that is often overlooked;
• look for an IMS system that has a staff planner included to ensure interpreters are available at the correct times otherwise multi-lingual staff or family members become the principal vehicles for addressing the needs of LEP patients;
• dedicating interpreter time to high-volume locations, or blocking clinic time for patients speaking certain languages, can increase interpreter efficiency and reduce patient wait times hence forecasting reporting is imperative.
No person should be disadvantaged due to cultural and language diversity.
Primaxis Interpreter Management System (IMS) an IBM Beacon award-winning Interpreter booking management system will simplify the complex task of scheduling and managing interpreters.
