Harborview Medical Center has selected a new unified communications and call center system from Avaya and Polycom that is intended to help physicians and staff serve non-English-speaking patients effectively and efficiently.
To improve the scheduling issues and enhance care for patients for whom English is not the primary language, Harborview tried phone-based interpreting using a centralized staff of interpreters. While the system was efficient, the voice-only service lacked the ability for the interpreter to see the patient and doctor and vice versa – an important visual component that’s crucial during diagnosis and that helps build trust, said Avaya.
The recent addition of the Avaya video telephony with Polycom videoconferencing is expected to enable the hospital to triple the volume of patient visits a call center-based interpreter can manage daily.
The system, managed for Harborview by the University of Washington, integrates the university’s Avaya Communication Manager IP Telephony and Contact Center applications with Polycom video endpoints on agent desktops in the interpretive services call center and on mobile carts in a pilot clinic. The video and audio clarity allows interpreters to clearly see and hear patients, including the important subtleties in both verbal and non-verbal communication, according to Avaya.
