CHCC avails of language interpreting service

In a bid to give its patients much improved experience and care, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. is planning to launch a language line service to help doctors communicate with patients effectively.

CEO Ester Muña said a language line is actually already programmed in CHCC. “We can actually implement it now but we just to need undergo training so everybody can use it,” she said.

A language line—essentially an on-demand interpreting service—breaks language barriers that hinder doctors from communicating well with patients, especially during the most challenging and critical times of treatment.

The language line will be available effective next week. CHCC hired a U.S.-based company called CLI to handle this project.

“We contracted with CLI, which renders telephone interpreting services. There will be 10 units available and then we can add on. We will be putting up units at every section at CHCC such as in clinics and wards. We will extend this service to Rota and Tinian eventually,” Muña said

CLI contracts exclusively with experienced professional interpreters. They guarantee that the interpreters are skilled professionals with knowledge of the medical industry.

Muña said CHCC will get the certified languages like Tagalog, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese and will acquire other languages if needed.

“We have staff that are bilingual that are ready to help out. We also invite interpreters and we would have an agreement with them through CLI. These are people who are actually certified in the language, especially in the issues of medical.”

“Our other concern was accessibility. CLI provides 24/7, on-demand telephone interpreting services,” Muña added.

The call to CLI will be initiated by an authorized personnel of CHCC and not by the patient.

“The doctor and medical staff such as nurses will make the calls. They will talk to an operator over the phone in front of the patient, then the operator will interpret,” Muña said.

Aside from improving services, the language line is CHCC’s response to patient complaints.

“We want to be sure that the interpretation is correct. Having CLI provide a language line for us, we are assured that the interpreter does not put an opinion within the conversation. The interpreter will just simply repeat what the physician or nurse has told the patient and vice versa,” Muña said.

“This is one of the things that we are opening up and the community can expect more services from us,” she added.