Better Outcomes at Lower Costs: How One Health System Leads the Way

Effective communication is at the heart of quality care. Yet, for one of our clients, communication barriers between patients and providers threatened their ability to provide exceptional care and drove operational inefficiencies. Partnering with AMN Healthcare Language Services for their in-person interpreting needs provided a refreshing solution to resolve these communication gaps. It delivered measurable improvements in patient outcomes, cost efficiency, and administrative simplicity.

Overcoming Language Barriers

Like many healthcare organizations, our client grappled with serious hurdles in meeting the language needs of their diverse patient population. They relied on a mix of individual contractors and state and local agencies to source in-person interprete rs, which presented several issues:

• Cost and Complexity: Working with multiple agencies and individuals led to high service costs, lack of consolidated reporting to track trends and manage costs, as well as the administrative burden of managing numerous invoices and interpreter request portals.
• Coverage and Consistency: The fragmented approach contributed to frequent communication breakdowns, negatively affecting patient satisfaction and quality of care. In addition to duplicate charges or cancellation fees when requestors forgot to cancel.
• Operational Inefficiency: Staff were stretched thin managing the logistics of interpreter scheduling and vendor relationships, creating disruptions to the seamless delivery of care.

With patient satisfaction and operational performance on the line, the health system needed a straight-forward solution to resolve their complex process.

The Customized In-Person Solution 

AMN Language Services took a deep-dive assessment of the health system’s unique challenges and designed a tailored strategy to address their needs. The comprehensive solution included:

1. A Nationwide Interpreter Network

   AMN Language Services leveraged its extensive network of professional interpreters to provide consistent, reliable coverage for the health system's high interpreter volume.

2. Simplified Technology

   Using AMN’s Interpreter Scheduler app, the health system was able to consolidate all in-person interpreter requests into a single, seamless process, eliminating the need to juggle multiple platforms.

3. Consistent and Reliable Service

   The centralized system ensures all interpreter requests are fulfilled with accuracy, minimizing disruptions and enhancing the experience for both patients and providers.

Measurable Outcomes

The impact of this partnership is clear and compelling. The tailored solution for the health system demonstrates the value of aligning healthcare delivery with patient communication needs.

1. Cost Savings

Switching to a fair and transparent pricing model reduced the health system's language services expenses by an impressive 46%, all while maintaining high standards of service quality.

2. Operational Efficiency

By consolidating contracts and processes, administrative tasks like invoicing were simplified. The streamlined system saved time for the staff.

3. High Fulfillment Rate

Interpreter requests were fulfilled with a remarkable 95% success rate, ensuring patients consistently received the language support they needed.

4. Actionable Insights Through Reporting

Comprehensive reporting provided the health system with the tools to evaluate the effectiveness of their language services and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

More Than Just Numbers

While the statistics speak volumes, the most significant achievement of this partnership was the enhancement of patient care. Clear communication is required for accurate diagnoses, informed decision-making, and building trust between patients and care teams. By eliminating language barriers and improving operational metrics, the partnership created a more inclusive environment that prioritized the needs of every patient.

Collaboration to Improve Care

This success story is a shining example of customized language services in modern healthcare. Thanks to their collaboration with AMN Language Services, our partners solved an operational challenge and took a massive step toward advancing health equity.

If your organization faces similar challenges with language services, explore how our tailored, technology-forward solution provides significant benefits for your patients, staff, and bottom line.

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