Brown & Toland Physicians Partners with Language Line Services to Expand Language Access for Limited English Speaking Patients

MONTEREY, Calif., Jan. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Brown & Toland Physicians, the San Francisco-based independent practice association, has expanded its relationship with Language Line Services to offer its physicians and the limited English speaking patients they serve access to a comprehensive suite of interpreting and translation services, which now includes Language Line(R) Face-to-Face Interpretation Service.  

"Brown & Toland has relied on Language Line Services' professional medical interpreters for over-the-phone interpretation on a limited basis for nearly four years," said Jim Rodriguez, Vice President, Product Growth and Development with Brown & Toland Physicians. "As the recognized industry leader in language services, we trust their expertise and the quality of their interpreters. It was only natural that we would look to them for on-site interpretation to meet the language access needs of our growing patient base."

Earlier this year, Brown & Toland contracted with San Francisco Health Plan for its doctors to provide care to the health plan's members who are representative of the city's cultural and linguistic diversity and who select Brown & Toland physicians. Medi-Cal managed care enrollees account for 63 percent of SFHP members and must have access to on-site interpreters, according to state regulations.

"As the recognized industry leader in quality interpretation, we are here to facilitate clear communication between Brown & Toland physicians and San Francisco Health Plan members enrolled in Medi-Cal," said Louis Provenzano, Language Line Services' President and Chief Operating Officer. "Because of our close relationships with the most prestigious medical facilities in the State of California, offering face-to-face interpreting services was our obvious decision to further assist our clients, and to continue to provide excellent language access through all modes of interpretation: over-the-phone, onsite, over video and American and Mexican Sign Languages."

Language Line Face-to-Face Interpretation Service is an important solution for healthcare providers that need to communicate with limited English speakers in situations requiring the extra human interaction and visual contact of on-site interpreting.

English is not the primary language for 28 percent of San Francisco Health Plan's linguistically diverse membership, according to September 2010 enrollment figures. Approximately 13 percent speak Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) and nine percent speak Spanish.

In addition to on-site interpretation, Language Line Services will continue to provide Brown & Toland Physicians with over-the-phone interpretation, available in more than 170 spoken languages, as well as American Sign Language (ASL).

About Brown & Toland Physicians

Brown & Toland Physicians, based in San Francisco, is an independent practice association (IPA) of more than 800 physicians serving more than 330,000 HMO and PPO members. Brown & Toland has earned numerous awards for quality and in 2010 was named for the third consecutive year an "Elite" Medical Group by the California Association of Physician Groups (CAPG).

About Language Line Services

Language Line Services, the global leader in telephone interpreting and language solutions, serves clients in government, healthcare, telecom, financial services, insurance and many other industries by quickly connecting them to their customers, patients and sales prospects in more than 170 spoken languages as well as American and Mexican sign language. Growth of the language interpreting industry has soared with increased immigration and government regulatory policies mandating that organizations provide services to limited English speakers in their own languages. Language Line Services is recognized as a trusted partner to thousands of clients throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, providing access to the industry's fastest language interpreting service at highly competitive rates. For more information about Language Line Services' suite of telephone and video interpreting, document translation, interactive software-based translation, interpreter assessment and training programs, please call +1 (800) 752-6096 or visit http://www.languageline.com  

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SOURCE Language Line Services