Hospital-wide professional telephone interpreter utilization increased 14% post-implementation
Source
Lee (2017). Increased Access to Professional Interpreters in the Hospital Improves Informed Consent for Patients with Limited English Proficiency. Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Description #
Overall utilization of professional telephone interpreters across the entire medical center — including floors not exposed to the bedside phone intervention — increased by 14% in the post- vs. pre-implementation period. This is a facility-level utilization measure reported descriptively (no significance test given). The authors note the increase may have been even greater on the intervention floors, though they could not confirm this.
"Overall utilization of professional telephone interpreters throughout the medical center, including floors not exposed to the intervention, increased by 14% during the post- vs. pre-implementation periods." (Lee, 2017, p. 866)
Methods Context #
What? #ⓘ
The observable: overall (facility-level) volume of professional telephone interpreter utilization throughout the medical center.
"Overall utilization of professional telephone interpreters throughout the medical center, including floors not exposed to the intervention, increased by 14% during the post- vs. pre-implementation periods." (Lee, 2017, p. 866)
How? #ⓘ
Comparison of hospital-wide professional telephone interpreter utilization between the pre- and post-implementation periods spanning the bedside interpreter phone rollout (A-0005ArtifactA-0005Initial AI draftBedside interpreter phone systemTo remove the time and availability barriers that keep clinicians from using professional interpreters in the hospital, by putting immediate, round-the-clock access to remote professional medical interpreters at every pa…); reported as a descriptive percentage change.
"In this study, we again observed an increase in overall interpreter phone use throughout the hospital, and while we cannot be sure, this increase may have been even greater on the intervention floors." (Lee, 2017, p. 868)
Who? #ⓘ
The entire academic medical center, including hospital floors not part of the three study floors and not directly exposed to the bedside phone intervention.
"Overall utilization of professional telephone interpreters throughout the medical center, including floors not exposed to the intervention, increased by 14%" (Lee, 2017, p. 866)
Other Notes #
Because the measure spans non-intervention floors as well, it reflects a hospital-wide shift concurrent with the rollout rather than an isolated intervention-floor effect.