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Posted November 8, 2006
Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare: Business News
Millions of Americans Can't Communicate with their Doctors, But a New Device from TLAN Could Change That
What if you needed care when you were in a country where you didn't speak the native language? How would you communicate your illness, pain or medical condition to a doctor? How would you even understand your diagnosis or follow prescription guidelines? If you're reading this, you probably haven't had to worry about that, but there are millions of Americans that do.
Until now, patients have had extremely limited access to interpreters. Now, a revolutionary technology from The Language Access Network (TLAN) enables live, one-on-one communication with interpreters, 24-hours a day via a portable flat screen device in hospitals, medical centers and pharmacies across the nation.
Upon entry to a hospital or pharmacy, a patient can connect with a TLAN interpreter via two-way video and speak their native tongue. A specialist will be able to determine the language and transfer the session to the proper interpreter. Then the interpreter will then help the doctor and patient communicate. Presently, TLAN maintains a call center that provides interpretation in 160 languages.
The Language Access Network system is in operation at several hospitals across the US. The pharmacy pilot program is currently being completed in a national chain store in Columbus, Ohio. Most recently, the system has been installed at Mercy Hospital in Miami.
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