Improvements in patient care: videoconferencing to improve access to interpreters during clinical consultations for refugee and immigrant patients.

Conclusions The present study has demonstrated that accessing an interpreter via videoconference is well accepted and preferred to telephone interpreting by both doctors and patients. What is known about the topic? Many immigrants and refugees settle in rural Australia. Access to professional on-site interpreters is difficult, particularly in rural Australia. What does this study add? Interpreters can be successfully accessed by videoconference. Patients and doctors prefer an interpreter accessed by videoconference rather than a telephone interpreter. What are the implications for practitioners? Doctors can utilise videoconferencing to access interpreters if this is available, confident that this is well accepted by patients and preferred to telephone interpreting. PMID: 25796404 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research