SimulTel: Enabling Remote Simultaneous Medical Interpreting

描述（由申请人提供）：63%的美国医院每天或每周治疗LEP患者。SimulTel, Inc.（“SimulTel”）是一家创新技术公司，通过促进远程同声传译（“RSMI”）的使用，旨在提高医疗保健口译的效率、准确性和降低成本。传统的医学口译是连续的。口译是在说话者完成讲话后进行的，因此说话者需要暂停一下，让口译员进行翻译。在同声传译中，口译员在听原话的同时进行口译，如在联合国，在代表发言时提供同声传译。最近发表的研究表明，RSMI的使用显著减少了医疗错误，并且比通常和习惯的口译方法更快。RSMI患者的满意度也更高。SimulTel建议使美国各地的医疗机构能够为其LEP患者提供RSMI。这种口译方法将通过以下方式实现：(1)使卫生保健机构能够灵活地扩大、最大限度地利用自己的口译资源，并使其“RSMI-enable”；(2)与电话口译提供者合作。在拟议的SBIR拨款期间，我们将：(1)确定为大量LEP人群服务的医疗机构的可行性和要求，通过一个新的大规模、多实体、基于网络的系统，使他们的口译员能够以“软件即服务”模式交付；(2)技术平台的设计、开发和测试；(3)在参与的卫生保健机构中部署和评估RSMI。这项研究将在纽约大都会区的三个医疗保健系统和第四家医院进行，代表了不同的医院、门诊诊所和护理机构。卫生保健机构为美国一些最多样化的社区提供服务，其中20-55%的患者英语水平有限。此外，我们将确保有一批熟练的口译人员，能够提供高质量的口译服务，并利用这项技术创新。为此，我们还将开发和测试一个在线口译培训模块，这将是一个可扩展的系统，可以有效地培训RSMI双语人员。将对服务、软件和培训计划进行严格的评估。这将包括对口译技能和知识的前后测试，建立试验试验台以广泛评估系统行为和性能，审查系统日志，服务质量，患者满意度，提供者满意度，监测系统和利用统计数据。SimulTel汇集了一个多学科团队，代表了移民健康、语言学和口译、通信技术和软件开发以及在线教育方面的互补和综合专业知识，以开发、测试和传播急需的技术创新，以解决医疗保健中的语言障碍。公共卫生相关性：美国有超过2100万人的英语水平有限（LEP），在过去十年中增长了50%。语言障碍严重影响了医疗保健的质量。目前的口译策略还有很多不足之处。SimulTel将通过促进训练有素的远程同声传译的使用，提高医疗保健口译的效率，提高准确性，并降低成本，这是一种弥合医疗保健语言障碍的创新方法。SimulTel还将通过培训双语人员进行医疗口译来满足对训练有素的医疗口译员日益增长的需求。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Sixty-three percent of U.S. hospitals treat LEP patients daily or weekly. SimulTel, Inc. ("SimulTel") is an innovative technology company founded to enhance efficiency, improve accuracy, and lower costs of interpreting in health care by facilitating the use of remote simultaneous medical interpreting ("RSMI"). Conventional medical interpreting is consecutive. The interpreting occurs after the speaker has completed speaking, necessitating that the speakers pause for the interpreter. In simultaneous interpreting, the interpreter interprets at the same time as s/he is hearing the original speech, as in the United Nations, where simultaneous voice-over interpreting is provided as delegates speak. Recently published research has shown that the use of RSMI results in significantly fewer medical errors and is faster than usual and customary interpreting methods. Patient satisfaction is also higher with RSMI. SimulTel proposes to enable health care facilities across the United States to offer RSMI to their LEP patients. This interpreting method will be made accessible by: (1) Enabling health care facilities to flexibly expand, maximize utilization of, and 'RSMI-enable' their own interpreting resources, and (2) Partnering with over-the-phone interpreting providers. During the proposed SBIR grant period, we will: (1) Determine feasibility of, and requirements for, health care facilities serving large LEP populations to RSMI-enable their interpreters through a new large- scale, multi-entity, Web-based system that can be delivered in a 'Software as a Service' model; (2) Design, develop and test the technology platform; and (3) Deploy and evaluate RSMI at participating health care facilities. The study will be conducted at three health care systems and a fourth hospital in the New York Metropolitan Area, representing a varied group of hospitals, ambulatory clinics, and nursing facilities. The health care facilities care for some of the most diverse communities in the United States, with 20-55% of their patients having limited English proficiency. Further, we will ensure that a skilled pool of interpreters, able to deliver quality interpreting, is housed on this technological innovation. To do so, we will also develop and test an online interpreter training module that will be a scalable system to efficiently train bilingual persons in RSMI. A rigorous evaluation will be conducted that examines the service, software and training program. This will include pre- and post-tests on interpreting skills and knowledge, setting up trial testbeds to extensively evaluate the system behavior and performance, reviewing system logs, quality of the service, patient satisfaction, provider satisfaction, monitoring the system and utilization statistics. SimulTel brings together a multidisciplinary team representing complementary and integrated expertise in immigrant health, linguistics and interpreting, communications technology and software development, and online education to develop, test, and disseminate a much-needed technological innovation to address the language barrier in health care. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Over 21 million persons in the United States are limited English proficient ("LEP"), a growth of 50% over the last decade. Language barriers seriously hamper quality of health care. Current interpreting strategies leave much to be desired. SimulTel will enhance efficiency, improve accuracy, and lower costs of interpreting in health care by facilitating the use of trained remote simultaneous medical interpreting, an innovative approach to bridging the language barrier in health care. SimulTel will also address the growing need for trained medical interpreters by training bilingual persons in medical interpreting.