Not feeling well and being hospitalized is never fun. For most of us, the hospital is an alien world where the routines associated with our care are different from our typical daily routines. We don’t get to decide what we will be doing; our schedules are set by a vast array of healthcare providers some of whom we have never met before. The challenges posed by an acute hospitalization can be lessened if we can establish effective patient-provider communication so that we can let our caregivers know how we feel and what we need, and they can explain what they are going to do to treat us. When the language we speak doesn’t match that of our care providers, we may face an insurmountable barrier to effective patient-provider communication. If you are a patient who faces a language barrier, you are at a three times higher risk of experiencing an adverse medical outcome while you are hospitalized. Language interpreters can certainly help eliminate the communication barrier, but if I suddenly am experiencing a new symptom or am in pain I really can’t wait for an interpreter. Likewise, if my nurse needs to quickly take a blood sample or suction out my breathing tube there is no time to wait for a live or online interpreter. Voxello’s bilingual noddle-chat provides you and your care providers a simple and easy way to overcome the language-based communication barriers.
Bilingual noddle-chat supports bidirectional communication, enabling the patient and the caregiver to communicate directly. The patient’s message buttons are labeled in the patient’s language and produce messages in English. Nurse’s message buttons are labeled in English and produce messages in the patient’s language. The available messages support talking about vital signs, positioning care, feelings, food, care management, family and entertainment options. Bilingual noddle-chat is not meant to take the place of language interpreters and one of the built-in patient messages allows the patient to request that an interpreter be summoned.
Bilingual Noddle-Chat
Right now, bilingual noddle-chat is available for speakers of Arabic, Chinese, French, Hindi, Russian, Spanish & Tagalog. Voxello will expand the range of languages supported to address the needs of patients who use sign language as well as for speakers of other spoken languages.
Clinical trials of Voxello’s noddle and noddle-chat have shown that when communication barriers are broken down patients have better outcomes and are more satisfied with their care. You can find out more about how Voxello supports patient-provider communication by visiting www.voxello.com.