Advancing language concordant care: a multimodal medical interpretation intervention

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Health Equity
• Medical Communication

Background:

• Medical interpretation services (MIS) are crucial for language concordant care, but the COVID-19 pandemic shifted services to digital-only options.
• Digital MIS (phone, video) were underutilized due to institutional practices, lack of accessibility, and low awareness.
• A Multimodal Medical Interpretation Intervention (MMII) was designed to boost digital MIS adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of the MMII on digital MIS usage among patients with limited English proficiency.
• To assess healthcare providers' awareness, accessibility, and perceptions of digital MIS integration.

Main Methods:

• A quality improvement methodology was applied over an 18-month intervention period.
• Monthly digital MIS minutes were tracked and compared pre- and post-intervention.
• A questionnaire assessed healthcare providers' perspectives on digital MIS.

Main Results:

• Digital MIS usage increased by 44% per month after the MMII implementation.
• Healthcare providers found digital MIS essential for transparent patient communication.
• The MMII successfully raised awareness and improved accessibility of digital MIS modalities.

Conclusions:

• The MMII effectively increased digital MIS utilization in a hospital setting.
• Providing access, education, and training for digital MIS promotes patient-centered and equitable care.
• Enhanced digital MIS improves the accuracy of clinical assessments and communication for diverse patient populations.