ANN ARBOR, Mich., Jan. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 65 million people living in the United States have Limited English Proficiency (LEP). Over 80% of the nation's healthcare facilities caring for LEP patients are challenged with higher occurrences of hospital readmissions, longer in-patient stays, and an increased risk for medication errors and patient non-compliance. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers often find themselves playing a dangerous game of charades to determine the patient's healthcare needs. Eloquence Communications, Inc. has created the Language Access Solution (LAS), a comprehensive solution that empowers healthcare providers by removing barriers to translation/interpretation for patients, caregivers, and healthcare facilities on a cost effective, 24-7-365 basis.
As part of NIH funded research, nurses from a large metropolitan hospital reported that physicians, nurses and aides lack the resources necessary to improve the disparities in healthcare for non-English speaking patients. Though some devices and apps exist, they are not always easy to navigate, nor are they reliable. "I attempted [using an online app] once, and it didn't work. It depends on the language. I tried using it with Arabic…I got nowhere." Often times, providers are left depending on a family member to interpret for the patient. As one might expect, this reliance is inefficient and problematic. "I'll get a family member to leave their phone number so we can call bedside. I just recently called and asked a family member to ask her mom if she was in pain." When asked if she calls family members often, the nurse responded, "I've probably done that more often than use the interpreter phone." Even more alarming, if an interpreter isn't available at the hospital (mostly evenings and weekends), days can go by without accurate communication or appropriate care being administered. "For admit paperwork on a Saturday, you have to depend on family or you're going to wait until Monday when the interpreter is on-site."
Eloquence's Language Access Solution (LAS) attacks this perilous situation by providing patients immediate access to a touchscreen tablet device displaying 30 of the most common requests in their native language. From this tablet, a patient's request is routed to the appropriate caregiver on their mobile device, the nurse or aide acknowledges the request, and a confirmation is sent back to the patient – in their preferred language. Equally as valuable is LAS's feature that allows the patient to speak with a live interpreter simply with the touch of an icon on the device. For hospitals and healthcare facilities, LAS is customizable, intuitive, requires no capital expense, and its WIFI connectivity makes installation a simple plug-and-play solution, avoiding any disruption to patient care. For patients, this system is empowering, reliable, and ensures more equitable, quality care that could prove life-saving.
About Eloquence Communications, Inc.
Eloquence Communications, a healthcare IT company founded by Dr. Lance Patak and Dr. Bryan Traughber, is dedicated to improving the delivery of care through the development of innovative and simple communication solutions. Drs. Patak and Traughber have committed themselves to helping healthcare facilities achieve optimal staffing allocation and workflow efficiency while driving improvements in patient communication, safety, outcomes, and satisfaction, in an impactful way.
For more information about Eloquence Communications, Inc. and the Language Access Solution program, contact:
Eloquence Communications, (855) 422-3567, [email protected]
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SOURCE Eloquence Communications
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