LanguageLine TeamLink is a solution that brings our clients’ in-house interpreters onto our state-of-the-art technology platform.
With TeamLink, interpretation requests made on the LanguageLine app are routed to clients’ staff interpreters first. If their interpreters are unavailable or there is a unique language request, calls roll over to LanguageLine Certified interpreters.
Tufts Medicine – Lowell General Hospital recently implemented TeamLink. We spoke with Manager of Interpreter Services Gabriela Bradburn about their successful transition to this solution.
Before we talk about TeamLink, can you tell us a little bit about the demographics you serve?
The languages that we see are Spanish being our No. 1 and Portuguese being our No. 2. We also have a very large Cambodian community – the second largest in the country – so our third most requested language would be Khmer.
What challenges were you facing that led you to consider TeamLink?
During the pandemic, most of our providers and clinicians started using our services remotely. That meant that my team of in-house interpreters was not being utilized or called for in-person appointments. The productivity of my staff dropped tremendously. After the pandemic, productivity did not change much. It stayed very low for in-person requests.
What led to your decision to implement TeamLink?
When we started to consider implementing a service like TeamLink, we needed to make sure that our team of interpreters, who are so skillful and so experienced, were the ones receiving calls for interpretation. We wanted to keep them working and improve their productivity. It was necessary for me to utilize the people we already had for language services and supplement that with remote services (from a language partner) as well.
What has been the impact of your decision?
The impact after we implemented TeamLink was tremendous. Our goal was to change the culture of how we use interpreter services from being 80% in person and 20% remote, to 20% in person and 80% remote. That gave us the ability to attend to as many patients in our service area as possible. It increased the productivity of our interpreters and let us service as many patients as possible.
What feedback have you received from staff interpreters?
I am an interpreter myself. Being able to attend to a patient’s language needs in person is very impactful, not just for the patient, but also for the interpreter. At the beginning, the interpreters thought they were going to lose that connection. But in reality what happened is we just did it differently. We continued to have special relationships with our colleagues as well as our patients. It is different being remote but it is working out. The interpreters are realizing they can be as caring and effective as they were before.
What feedback have you received from patients?
They like that the service is on-demand (and) that they don’t have to wait for us to arrive to their appointments. Also they like to see when familiar faces come along. Having someone to help them navigate the system and navigate their appointments is just a big plus.
How has your organization benefitted overall from TeamLink?
The organization has benefitted tremendously. We proved that we can (implement) a very successful call center. It has been very successful in that we are there right when the doctor needs us and the patient needs us. Our productivity has gone through the roof. Overall it has been very well received.
LanguageLine Can Help
Maximize the efficiency of your interpreting team by integrating them into LanguageLine’s state-of-the-art technology platform.
Ready to empower your in-house team with cutting-edge technology? Contact us today to learn how LanguageLine TeamLink can streamline your interpreting services, enhancing patient satisfaction and maximizing staff productivity.
