UCHealth, a leading university-affiliated health system serving communities across Colorado, Southern Wyoming, and Western Nebraska, faced a growing need for language access.
With a patient base that includes up to 13% Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals in certain regions, the health system recognized that telephone access remained a critical entry point for care. However, traditional methods for adding an interpreter to patient calls created delays, frustration, and barriers to equitable access.
By partnering with LanguageLine and Cisco, UCHealth developed an integrated call flow solution that enables seamless, one-touch access to professional interpreters. The result is a vastly improved experience for both patients and staff, reducing wait times, improving efficiency, and ensuring that LEP patients receive the same level of service as English-speaking callers.
Challenge: Ensuring Seamless Access to Language Services for LEP Patients
Despite advancements in digital patient portals, the telephone remains the “front door” for many patients seeking care, especially those who face language barriers.
Before this integration, UCHealth operators faced several challenges when assisting LEP patients over the phone.
- They first had to manually determine the caller’s language, which could be difficult and time-consuming.
- Once the language was identified, adding an interpreter required multiple steps, including dialing out and navigating an interactive voice response (IVR) system to connect with the appropriate interpreter.
- This process often resulted in hold times ranging from 30 to 45 seconds, delaying communication and creating frustration for both patients and staff.
These inefficiencies often discouraged LEP patients from calling on their own, leading to family members acting as intermediaries or, in some cases, patients choosing not to seek care at all.
Solution: One-Touch Integration Between Cisco and LanguageLine
UCHealth sought a solution that would simplify interpreter access and reduce wait times. By integrating LanguageLine with Cisco Finesse, the company’s next-generation agent and supervisor desktop, UCHealth enabled:
- Speed dials for the top 10 languages frequently spoken by patients.
- A directory for all other languages, ensuring access to over 240 languages.
- Instant connection to LanguageLine interpreters via a single button click.
- Seamless call transfers to inpatient units and departments without dropping the interpreter.
This eliminated the need for hospital operators to manually dial out and navigate multiple steps, cutting wait times by up to 45 seconds and providing a frictionless experience for both patients and staff.
The Role of LanguageLine’s Call Customization
Traditionally, accessing an interpreter through a call center required multiple steps.
As was the case with UCHealth, callers were often placed on hold while an agent manually dialed out to a language service provider, navigated an IVR system to select the correct language, and then waited for an interpreter to be connected.
With LanguageLine’s advanced call customization, UCHealth was able to eliminate these inefficiencies and streamline interpreter access. Instead of navigating a complex system, operators now simply click a button in their system, and the call is immediately routed to an interpreter in the required language—bypassing the IVR and data-collection steps entirely.
This “click-to-connect” capability significantly reduces wait times, improves productivity, and enhances both patient and staff satisfaction. With faster access to interpreters, UCHealth has been able to provide a seamless experience for LEP patients while also realizing cost savings and operational improvements across its contact centers.
Impact: Increased Access and Improved Patient Experience
Since implementing the one-touch interpreter integration, UCHealth has seen a dramatic increase in patient engagement among LEP individuals.
- Calls from patients who speak languages other than English have grown by 40% year over year, with nearly 6,000 calls per month spanning 44 different languages. More LEP patients are now calling UCHealth on their own, rather than relying on family members to interpret or avoiding making calls altogether.
- This seamless access to language services has greatly reduced call-handle times, enabling operators and appointment agents to provide faster, more efficient service. The ability to instantly connect to an interpreter has not only improved patient experience but has also led to higher staff satisfaction, as operators no longer struggle with language identification or time-consuming interpreter connections.
- Additionally, the new system allows interpreters to stay on the line even when calls are transferred to inpatient units or other departments, ensuring continuity of care and eliminating the need to reconnect interpreters mid-conversation.
By making language access as simple as a single button click, UCHealth has strengthened its commitment to healthcare equity, ensuring that all patients—regardless of language—can access the information and services they need without barriers.
Client Perspective: Bridging the Digital Divide
Scott Suckow, UCHealth’s Director of Language and Cultural Services, emphasized the broader impact of this innovation:
“Recent advances in digital technologies have done much to improve health and quality of life for Americans. All too often, though, technology-based solutions inadvertently create a ‘digital divide’ that leaves behind populations facing language, cultural, and financial barriers. Innovative solutions like this one reverse this trend and show how technology can also be used to bridge the digital divide and provide access to healthcare for all.”
A Model for Future Healthcare Language Access
UCHealth’s partnership with LanguageLine and Cisco demonstrates how technology can break down barriers rather than create them. By simplifying interpreter access, the health system has not only improved patient satisfaction and operational efficiency but has also set a new standard for equitable, inclusive healthcare communication.
Interested in achieving the same benefits for your organization?
We invite you to contact LanguageLine to explore how our customized interpreter access solutions can improve efficiency, enhance patient experience, and ensure seamless communication for all.
Let’s work together to break down language barriers and create a more inclusive healthcare experience.