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When a patient cannot communicate with his or her doctor, simple problems can worsen.

Recent immigrants to the United States are more likely to follow their own cultural guidelines for healthcare rather than those recommended by an unfamiliar doctor. Coupled with a language barrier, this can lead to serious health issues.

Now these language barriers are being broken down with help from Language Line Services and Language Access Network. These two companies are helping doctors in hospitals and clinics communicate with patients who are not fluent in English or are deaf and require an interpreter, through video conferencing.

Language Line Services is a 25-year-old global interpretation company, owned by ABRY Partners, specializing in telephone-based audio translation. The three-year-old Language Access Network introduced its service as a pilot project at the Ohio State University Medical Center's emergency room 18 months ago. Now both companies are looking to expand their footprints across the country.

Convenient as the services are, they also will play a bigger role in the coming years. The most recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau (Census 2000 and the 2005 American Community Survey) show that Latinos now are the largest ethnic group in the United States (14.5 percent). Data from 2005 shows there are nearly 42 million, up from 34.5 million in 2000. These same estimates also show that through immigration and natural increases it is very likely this figure will increase by 1.5 million annually, a growth rate that will make Latinos nearly 25 percent of the population by 2050. According to a report released by the Centers for Disease Control, education and language barriers leave many of them vulnerable to serious health problems.

In the United States today, approximately 80 percent of hospitals frequently treat patients with limited English proficiency, according to a recent report by the Health Research & Educational Trust. Most hospitals try to get by with staff interpreters, bilingual clinical staff or telephonic services, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

Charles Vialotti, the director of radiation oncology at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, N.J., says the on-camera exchanges are particularly beneficial. "You get the verbal exchange, but coupled with that a very strong sense of the patient's understanding by looking at body language and facial expression, which is absent with just an audio connection."

Video conferencing interpretation (subscription required) also is a cost-saving measure. For a nominal fee, often ranging from $2 to $3 per minute, a medical staff can have access to an interpreter for what often is a short conversation, whereas normally, hospitals and clinics would have to pay approximately $100 or more an hour for an onsite interpreter, the Journal adds.

The Ohio State University Medical Center's emergency department uses Language Access Network's video service on a daily basis, according to Richard Potts, director of customer service.

"As soon as somebody walks in the door, we can have an interpreter available for them," says Potts. "The staff seems to like it, and we're getting good responses from the patients."

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