Cut costs without cutting services at hospitals and medical facilities.
Delivering care promptly and accurately can be a challenge for medical facilities when servicing a large population of patients who do not speak English. Hospitals can spend considerably more time and money on each limited English proficient (LEP) patient without the correct language services and tools than on English speakers. By partnering with an experienced language service provider, like Language Services Associates (LSA), doctors and medical staff can improve care while reducing time and money spent.
Just about everyone is familiar with LSA’s incomparable Over the Phone Interpretation (OPI) services. But did you know we offer several additional features and stand-alone phone solutions to accommodate various needs?
LSA’s OPI service is a lifeline for many, ensuring 24/7/365 access to high-quality interpreters on demand in hundreds of languages. With just a push of a button (or a quick phone call to your dedicated toll-free number (TFN)), medical professionals will be connected with a carefully vetted multilingual expert in your field.
There’s more…
Our latest additions and features take our services a step further, enhancing accessibility for non-English speakers and improving workflows for our clients. Let’s take a look at two features that can be useful for your organization:
Save on Time and Costs with LSA’s Reverse Call Flow
Determining a patient’s language, waiting on hold, and ensuring interpreter introductions are performed before the start of a call can impact your workflow when a non-English speaking patient calls your facility and cannot express to you which language they speak. While LSA’s coordinators are highly trained to assess a patient’s language using proven techniques, allowing your patient to connect with an interpreter before calling your facility can save time and money.
In the traditional call flow, a medical professional will call our call center to request an interpreter, who will then join the call. In our Reverse Call Flow, your non-English-speaking customers or patients can call LSA directly via a dedicated TFN and be joined with an interpreter before connecting with your user. The benefits of this service include:
Removes call handling time entirely
The reverse call flow allows limited English-proficient (LEP) patients and customers to connect directly to an interpreter before contacting your facility. This reduces the time and steps required to begin an interpretation session, significantly cutting call handling time and leading to more efficient and seamless interactions.
Saves time to improve workflows
When an LEP patient or customer can connect with an interpreter before contacting your facility, it saves time for your employees and improves workflows.
Enhances customer/patient experience
Cutting down call handling times eliminates wait times for your staff and LEP customers or patients. The less time your staff spends helping one individual caller, the more time they can spend serving other patients or customers. This improves overall patient and customer satisfaction for English-speaking and LEP individuals. Additionally, by allowing callers to connect in their language, they receive services in a language they can understand from the second their call is answered.
Two Ways to Utilize the Reverse Call Flow Service
1. We can create a voice prompt to be included in your IVR. The call will come directly to your main line, and the LEP caller will hear an option to press a number for their specific language — “press 2 for Spanish,” for example. The call will then be sent to the TFN LSA provided for that language, and an interpreter will answer that call in the selected language. The interpreter will greet your patient or customer and call your facility. This would be an option any time a patient calls, and the prompt will be delivered in the appropriate language so it’s clear to LEP patients.
2. LSA provides your organization with a TFN that an LEP caller can use to connect with an interpreter in their specific language (each language will have its own TFN to eliminate any wait times or confusion). You would share this number with your customer or patient, and they would use it to connect directly to an interpreter in their language before being connected to your facility.
Provide More Efficient Care with Scheduled Over the Phone Interpretation
While on-demand OPI can be a lifesaver, especially in an emergency, LSA also offers the option to schedule calls. For rarer languages or specific appointment times, scheduling a call with an interpreter can eliminate wait times and uncertainty about obtaining an interpreter for a language of lesser diffusion and provide a better patient or customer experience. It has these benefits:
Eliminates Wait Times
Wait times are significantly reduced by scheduling an interpreter in advance. Your user will call LSA and give your request number to a coordinator, or open the LSA Interpretation App, type in the request number, and be connected to the interpreter. This is especially helpful for languages of lesser diffusion where fewer interpreters are available.
Guarantees Availability
Scheduling OPI ensures an interpreter is available at the time of your call. Scrambling to secure a qualified interpreter can waste time and resources when you have time blocked out for an appointment.
Provides a Better Customer/Patient/Employee Experience
Cutting down wait times provides a better experience for your staff and LEP customers or patients. The less time your staff spends searching for an interpreter, the more time they have to work on other tasks or help more patients or customers. This improves overall patient, customer, and employee satisfaction.
Two Ways to Schedule an OPI Interpreter:
1. Call your dedicated TFN and schedule an appointment with an LSA coordinator. The coordinator will collect the required information and place the request on your behalf. Once the request is filled, you will receive a confirmation email.
2. You can securely request an interpreter through the LSA Client Portal. Enter the required information, and a request will be placed. Once your request is filled, you will receive a confirmation email.
At LSA, we’re constantly developing new, innovative services to provide a better care experience. Our advanced technology, highly experienced staff, and carefully vetted medical interpreters ensure you and your patients can communicate effectively when, where, and how you need to. Our services cut costs, improve patient experiences, enhance workflows, and reduce resource-draining readmissions.
How LSA Can Help You Do More
LSA is at the forefront of technology, constantly working to deliver services and features that simplify workflow processes and advance doctor-patient relationships. By creating our own software explicitly designed for OPI and Video Remote Interpretation, we constantly improve features customized to our clients’ experiences.
With our Reverse Call Flow and Scheduled OPI features, medical staff can better engage their LEP patients, deliver accurate care faster, and save costs by reducing call handling and connection times. This also allows staff more time to spend with other patients and complete other tasks, ultimately improving services for all.
- Faster Care
- Accurate Communication
- Lower Costs
- Reduced Readmissions
- Improved Patient Journey
About Language Services Associates
Language Services Associates (LSA) provides Over the Phone Interpretation (OPI) services that significantly enhance communication between clients and their LEP patients and customers.
- Available on demand, 24/7/365, via a toll-free number or the LSA Interpretation App, LSA’s OPI services ensure rapid connection to qualified interpreters within seconds.
- LSA offers various call flow options, such as traditional and reverse call flow, providing flexibility in how clients connect with interpreters.
- LSA supports third-party connections and assists in language identification when the LEP individual’s preferred language is unclear. Calls can be connected on demand or by scheduling with an LSA coordination or in the LSA Client Portal. This comprehensive approach ensures precise, accurate, and effective communication, boosting customer satisfaction and trust.
LSA offers a full suite of language services that also include:
Are you ready to save time and money while providing better care?
Contact us today to improve workflows and enhance patient and customer experiences.
