The United States has many people from different backgrounds. More than 64 million people speak little or no English. Some patients also have trouble hearing, which makes communication harder. In the past, healthcare workers found it hard to talk with patients who have limited English or hearing loss, especially during video visits or when using online health portals that were mostly in English.
Before recent changes, video visit platforms and online portals rarely included easy access to interpreters. Doctors often had to use outside apps or phone calls to get an interpreter. This slowed down their work and delayed patient care. Also, patients who couldn’t use portals well because of language barriers missed chances to manage appointments, see their health records, or understand instructions after visits.
Healthcare groups are now adding on-demand phone and video interpreting services into Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems like Epic and athenahealth. This means doctors do not have to leave the patient’s record or switch between apps to get an interpreter.
For example, Boostlingo’s service in athenahealth lets doctors request interpreters through the patient’s record screen. This saves time and lets doctors focus more on patients.
Similarly, NYU Langone Health uses Voyce inside Epic. It gives quick access to medical interpreters, often in seconds.
These integrations have several helps:
Adding interpreting services into EHRs helps patients talk to doctors more easily. Patients don’t have to wait for in-person interpreters or schedule third-party language help. They get help right away when needed.
Healthcare systems that translated patient portals saw more use by people who speak other languages. For example, Mount Sinai Health System added Arabic, Russian, and Chinese to its MyMountSinai portal, along with English and Spanish. Tufts Medicine added Spanish and Chinese to its MyTuftsMed portal to help Boston’s Chinatown community. These changes helped patients schedule appointments, upload records, and understand visit summaries on their own.
Video remote interpreting (VRI) also helps Deaf and hard of hearing patients. This service uses video on regular devices for sign language interpretation. It is useful during urgent or complex visits where seeing is important.
Federal laws, like Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require healthcare providers to make services accessible to patients with limited English or disabilities. Not providing qualified interpreters can bring legal trouble.
By adding on-demand interpreters into EHRs and video visit platforms, healthcare providers can meet these legal rules more easily. This also helps keep good records needed for legal checks and to reduce risks.
Companies like AMN Healthcare offer language services in over 300 languages. Their services follow HIPAA rules to keep patient data safe. They also comply with security standards to protect information while providing language help.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and workflow automation are becoming parts of interpreting services in healthcare, but human interpreters are still needed for sensitive talks.
By 2024 and beyond, interpreting technology has features like:
For example, Boostlingo’s AI tools include AI Captioning and AI Speech Translation. These help make interpreting work faster and better but still support human interpreters rather than replace them.
Talking about health needs cultural understanding, judgement, and feelings. AI cannot do these well. Human interpreters understand the right way to explain things in hard situations.
Experts say AI tools help human interpreters do their jobs better. Training now also teaches interpreters how to use AI, mixing technology with human skills.
Adding AI tools into EHRs makes scheduling interpreters and documenting talks easier. This means fewer manual steps and less chance of mistakes or delays.
IT managers like this because integrated tools cause fewer tech problems and work well inside existing healthcare software.
Adding interpreting services helps healthcare managers run clinics better and provide better care.
IT managers in healthcare have a big job when adding interpreting services into EHR systems.
Many hospitals in the U.S. show how interpreting service integration helps in real life:
These examples show how better patient communication can improve health and clinic work.
| Stakeholder | Benefit |
|---|---|
| Medical Practice Admins | Streamlined workflow; reduced interpreter coordination efforts |
| Practice Owners | Improved patient satisfaction and retention; compliance with legal standards |
| IT Managers | Simplified integration; secure platform management; staff training |
| Clinicians | Instant access to qualified interpreters; better documentation |
| Patients (LEP & Deaf/HoH) | Clear communication; greater engagement with care portals and telehealth |
| Healthcare Systems | Reduced risks; improved health equity; more accurate clinical outcomes |
Putting on-demand phone and video interpreting services inside Electronic Health Records is a big step forward in healthcare across the United States. This helps remove language barriers quickly and safely while using systems healthcare workers know.
It leads to better communication, better patient care, following laws, and smoother operations.
Medical practice administrators, owners, and IT managers should think about adding this service to reach more patients and keep up with healthcare technology changes. AI and automation will keep helping, but human interpreters are still needed for care that respects culture and feelings.
The top trends include integration of phone and video interpreting directly into Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems, expanded use of AI in consecutive interpreting, and a growing focus on maintaining human interpreter skills like cultural sensitivity and ethical judgment alongside AI tools.
EHR systems will embed on-demand interpreting services directly, eliminating the need for multiple platforms. Providers can access interpreting features within their existing healthcare software, streamlining workflows and improving patient-provider communication.
Telehealth platforms struggled to offer integrated interpreting services, often requiring providers to use external apps and manage multiple links, creating workflow inefficiencies and potential delays in patient care.
AI supports remote simultaneous interpreting by providing automatic transcription, speech-to-speech translation, and meeting summaries. However, it serves as an aid rather than replacement in complex healthcare conversations where cultural and ethical nuances are crucial.
Human interpreters provide essential cultural sensitivity, emotional intelligence, and ethical judgment that AI currently cannot replicate. These human qualities are crucial in sensitive healthcare situations for accurate and compassionate communication.
Examples include speech-to-speech translation, automatic transcription, and translation summaries incorporated in remote simultaneous interpreting platforms, enhancing meeting productivity and accessibility across multiple languages.
Interpreters are embracing AI by participating in training programs focused on AI tools, attending workshops, and integrating AI features to augment their work while preserving the human aspects of interpreting.
It reduces technological barriers, allowing healthcare providers to communicate effectively and instantly with patients in multiple languages, thereby improving accuracy, timeliness, and overall quality of care.
New legislation and best practice guidelines aim to protect the critical human role in interpreting, ensuring AI is used as a complementary tool without compromising quality, ethics, or trust in healthcare communication.
Providers are actively informing clients about AI’s capabilities and limitations, helping them navigate the integration of AI tools while emphasizing the importance of human interpreters in delivering culturally and ethically sound services.
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