Intermountain Healthcare, Stratus Video Interpreting Partners to Offer Assisted Listening Services

By CIOReview | Monday, June 8, 2015

FREMONT, CA: Facilitating better communication and timely care for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) and hearing loss, Intermountain Healthcare takes up alliance with Stratus Video Interpreting (VRI) for on-demand medical interpretation services.

Intermountain Healthcare’s in-house translators are aided by VRI services in order to enable their staffs with quick access to qualified medical interpretations in 200 different spoken and signed languages approximately.

“When patients are able to communicate in their native language, it substantially reduces the risk of misunderstandings that can lead to costly or even fatal mistakes. It also helps put LEP individuals at ease, lessening the fear or anxiety many experience in medical settings,” says David Fetterolf, President of Stratus Video Interpreting.

It was from January 2015, Intermountain Healthcare started to make use of the on-demand medical interpretation services put forth by Stratus. Initially 750 Stratus-linked mobile iPad units were implemented across Intermountain Healthcare’s 22 hospitals and 150 clinics.

Eliminating the barriers of miscommunication due to language barriers, Stratus opens up a platform for convenient and healthy communication for patients, doctors, nurses and other employees.“Sometimes the patient’s condition warrants immediate and fast access to those interpretation services,” says Dr. Adam Balls, vice chairman of the emergency department at Intermountain Medical Center.

Intermountain Healthcare will continue to provide in-person translators whenever possible or demanded even though hospital and clinic staff takes only less than 30 seconds to connect to qualified medical interpreters. Stratus-linked iPads will soon be made available to the organization’s home-care nurses as well as on its Life Flight helicopters.

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