Phones assist translation in Amsterdam

Frank Negro, vice president of information services, explained that many patients do not speak English as their main language. As a result, he said, "trouble in their communication with us and us with them is a very big issue."

CyraPhone's DiaLingual service provides interpreters for 150 different languages, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To use the service, a caller dials a specific phone number to connect to DiaLingual. After punching in a code number, the caller is connected to an interpreter who speaks the designated language.

"We had an occasion recently where a gentleman only spoke Russian," Mr. Negro said. "We were able to use the service to explain the procedures he was to have done, allow him to ask any questions and help him understand how he would heal after he was discharged. He was able to speak naturally to us and was confident that he was being understood."

Prior to DiaLingual, St. Mary's Hospital relied on volunteers to interpret. "We really appreciate all their effort," Mr. Negro said, but he believes that DiaLingual will ensure confidentiality between a doctor and a patient more so than with the volunteer interpreters. "In a small community like ours, patients need to feel a sense of confidentiality."

One phone has been placed in each of the hospital's major patient areas, and "the nurses are able to bring the phone into the room and plug it right into the patient's bedside." The phones are located in the out-patient services as well as in the emergency room.

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