Hi - does anyone have or is working on an app for interpreting? We are looking at different options & wondered what else other healthcare providers might be using.
Many thanks Jenny
Have you looked at "Listen Please " developed by Dr Janet Liang at Waitemata DHB.
Yep Listen Please (developed by Janet, not owned by WDHB) is available on the usual stores. It is limited to certain phrases and languages (was developed for ICU/ED type situations originally). Last time I checked our wards were going to use a mixture of Listen Please and google translate - not sure how they are going.
we had an intern check if there was anything else about 12-18 months ago and there was nothing particularly better for our situation, particularly with the pacific languages we need
Thanks Robyn – will let our team know.
Janet and I are writing up some recent research on ListenPlease. You can download the app from iTunes at a small fee. Give it a go. It was designed for use in any ward or in primary car. Our research has been in a mix of wards. Let us know how it goes.
Dear Jenny,
Yes to both. I developed an app for the iPad, “Listen Please”. It does Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, Korean, Samoan and Tongan, in audio and visual translated statements, graphics and photos. It is orientated towards emergency (life threatening)
and mundane (bedcares) translation but I want to extend it. The difficulty is in finding the funding to do so.
I realised that the issues with Google Translate and other audio real time interpreting apps are that you don’t always have good wi fi access when you need it (but that’s better than it used to be), Google Translate isn’t so good for Asian languages, and
interpreted concepts, especially complex ones, are better conveyed in several ways for patients to reliably get the correct understanding.
Janet
I wanted to trial Google translate but sadly our customer services weren’t keen. I am still waiting to see what might emerge since we need to find something at some point to support our stretched resources. At the same time we don’t want to take away from the tangible support that a physically present interpreter often provides. Is there a happy medium i.e. telehealth with the interpreter?
There are different ways of doing interpreting Rebecca. ListenPlease is good for brief conversations that you don’t want to bother
an interpreter with, e.g. how’s your pain? Here’s the article we wrote when we researched ListenPlease from the clinicians’ point of view (busy analysing data from interviews with patients). The article’s introduction reviews different ways of using interpreters
and how the ListenPlease app fills a gap.
Day Song 2017 Attitudes and concerns of doctors and nurses using a translation app in hospital.pdf (563 KB)
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Thanks Janet - thats/great to know. We will keep in touch. Kind regards Jenny
For NZSL NZVIS is awesome.
NZVIS is not so much an app but uses skype for a video interpreter service for New Zealand Sign Language (is American company - I’m not aware where else in the world they are). It is becoming more and more popular in the deaf community and is a joint venture with Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment.
We have had a few patients come in asking to use the service often on their own devices but we ensure that we provide the internet access free of charge etc and a device if required. Interpreters are qualified and can be accessed without booking with sessions up to 20 mins. Currently this is available Mon-Fri 8am-8pm but I think they recently announced funding for weekends. Ideally this will go to 24/7 as it is perfect for those unexpected bedside conversations when a local interpreter is not available.
I have been told that MBIE are wanting to redesign and improve the technology to make it more accessible than Skype. The RFP will be released by MBIE in July.
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Thanks Derek- will look into it too.