Video Medical Interpretation (VMI)

Since 2001, Health Access has incubated a project with Alameda County Medical Center (ACMC) and San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) to ensure systematic, high-quality, and quick delivery of interpreter services between patients and doctors. To do that, Health Access helped the two hospitals restructure to set up a centralized interpreter call center that services both Alameda and San Francisco counties, and provides translations for about 22 different languages.

Since the inception of this project, wait times for patients who need interpreter services have shrunk from an average of 30 minutes to shorter than five minutes. Interpreter services have moved beyond the hospitals and now include community health centers. Each county records more than 100,000 interpretations a year - the majority of which are performed either telephonically or via video-conferencing equipment. Both counties still retain some in-person staff for interpretation.

Health Access continues to support and nurture this project as an example of how technology can be used to help improve medical quality.

VMI Project Fact Sheet