Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients require language services during and after their stay at your facility. Patients need to be able to call with questions about their treatment plan, schedule follow-up appointments, and receive answers for their general inquiries.
However, in many hospitals these calls are not addressed because:
- Staff interpreters cannot be reached
- The phone technology is not set up to conference with an LEP provider
- The call is not transferred with the interpreter and patient both on the line.
- Conferencing an interpreter complicates the process for operators, removing operators
from other duties
Faced with these problems, LEP patients will often return to the facility and
increase unnecessary ER visits when the issue could have been resolved by telephone, resulting in reduced patient satisfaction and increased costs.
Inbound calling interpretation is currently available for Spanish.
How to provide access
There are several ways to provide access to your LEP patients:
Integrated option in your existing phone system
Provide the option for Spanish on your phone system. For example, when an LEP person
calls your facility, upon reaching your automated call platform they may say “Press
2 for Spanish”, (“Para español, oprima numero dos”). Please note that this option
is based on the capabilities of your phone system.
Contact the manufacturer of your phone system to see if your calls can be forwarded
to a 22 digit extension.
Dedicated toll free number
Provide LEP patients with the toll-free phone number associated with the
phone number of your facility or designated department. The number and access code
can be promoted anywhere including:
- Discharge forms
- Response forms
- Your website
We also provide the option to order complimentary “access cards” - business-card
sized instructions printed in the patient’s language.
Receiving an inbound call
LEP patients calling your toll-free number will hear a series of prompts in their
language, instructing them to wait for a hospital operator or call 911 in the case
of an emergency. When an operator becomes available and answers the call, a brief
prompt will notify the operator that they will be receiving an "inbound call", after
which all three parties (the operator, LEP patient, and interpreter) will be connected.
The interpreter will then begin by addressing the provider with a brief pre-interpretation
session introduction, followed by a similar introduction for the LEP patient. At
this point, the LEP person can begin initiating the conversation.
Outbound Calling to LEP patients
Ideal for callbacks and scheduling appointments, Outbound Calling enables you to
access an interpreter and conference in one or multiple LEP patients in a single
interpretation session. You control when to add or disconnect the patient, or the
interpreter can assist you with dialing, re-dialing and conferencing. Interpreters
can also assist you with leaving messages for LEP patients in their preferred language.
Questions?
Contact your CyraCom Account Representative or call Client Services at 1-800-481-3289
Sign up now for inbound calling (Account
Management login required).