Automating Healthcare's Braille & Audio CD Fulfillment with Middleware

Summary:

What issue does automation address in accessible communication? Manual workflows for Braille and Audio CD requests cause delays, errors, and resource strain. Automation replaces these steps with faster, more reliable processing.

How does the automated system function? Middleware (Blackbird.io) detects, ingests, and routes files from secure SFTP. It identifies request types, assigns queues, tracks fulfillment, and updates status. No manual steps are needed.

What are the key benefits of this approach? Faster turnaround, fewer errors, full tracking, and better scalability, all while supporting compliance and improving patient experience.

Insights From the Field: A LanguageLine Solutions Architect Series

This blog is part of a new LanguageLine series where our Solutions Architects share real-world insights from client implementations, platform evaluations, and technical research. Drawing from broad industry experience, we explore the practical trade-offs, challenges, and advantages of translation technology to help organizations build smarter, more effective language access strategies.

In this edition, we’re exploring how a regional healthcare organization partnered with LanguageLine to solve a growing accessibility challenge, delivering Braille and Audio CD formats quickly, accurately, and at scale.

The Challenge: Manual Workflows Were Slowing Everything Down

This healthcare organization had a clear objective: ensure patients who request accessible communications receive them quickly and accurately. But their existing process for fulfilling Braille and Audio CD requests was highly manual.

Each request had to be tracked, formatted, and routed by hand, creating delays, resource strain, and an elevated risk of human error. As request volumes grew, the inefficiencies compounded. The fulfillment process needed to be faster, smarter, and more dependable.

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The Solution: A Closed-Loop Workflow Built for Accessibility

As a result of our Solutions Architecture consulting, we learned that the client's Content Management System (CMS) exports letters, metadata, and a manifest file to a secure SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) location. We designed and implemented an integration with automated workflows to ingest these files, streamline processing, and support end-to-end delivery with minimal manual intervention.

A key component of this solution is a flexible middleware tool called Blackbird.io, that is a flexible middleware tool that acts as the bridge between our client’s system and our production queues.

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Here’s how the solution works:

• Polling: Blackbird.io polls our client’s SFTP every 10 minutes to detect new files and manifest data.
• Ingestion: Once files are found, they are pulled into LanguageLine’s secure SFTP.
• Routing: The manifest is read to determine the request type (Braille or Audio CD) and patient delivery details.
• Automation: Files are automatically routed to the appropriate production queue based on type.
• Fulfillment Tracking: When production is complete, tracking numbers and shipment dates are added to the manifest.
• Feedback Loop: Blackbird.io pushes the updated manifest back to our client’s SFTP for system-level visibility.

This automated workflow eliminated the need for manual file handling or request tracking, creating a closed-loop system that’s both efficient and compliant.

Internal Impact: Operational Efficiency that Enhances Client Experience

This solution delivered clear internal efficiencies for LanguageLine; however, its true value lies in how those efficiencies translate into better service for our clients:

• Automated routing and fulfillment ensures requests are processed quickly and accurately, reducing turnaround times for the end recipient.
• Minimized manual intervention frees up our teams to focus on complex needs, allowing us to scale services without sacrificing quality.
• Built-in tracking and real-time feedback loops help us stay ahead of SLAs and proactively communicate status updates to the client.

Because we were able to integrate this solution into our existing infrastructure, we accelerated deployment and avoided the delays typically associated with building custom processes, delivering value to the client faster and with less lift on their side.

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Client Impact: Fast, Accurate, and Transparent Fulfillment

For our client, the benefits are even more tangible:

• Faster turnaround times mean patients receive accessible communications sooner and avoid noncompliance with contractual obligations.
• Automated tracking updates give them full visibility into where each request stands.
• Minimal IT involvement makes the system scalable and sustainable over time.

What once took manual labor and follow-up is now handled with near-real-time precision, and it’s built to scale.

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Accessibility Without Complexity

This solution isn’t just a technical win. It’s a model for how healthcare organizations can operationalize accessibility without reinventing their processes. By combining smart middleware with secure automation, LanguageLine helps clients meet compliance requirements while improving the patient experience.

Want to Learn More?

If your organization is facing similar challenges in accessibility, integration, or multilingual compliance, our Solutions Architects are ready to help.

Let’s build something that works seamlessly, securely, and at scale.

To learn more about our content and translation solutions, please visit our website.

Please contact us to schedule a free consultation.

Reach out to your Business Development Manager to schedule a discovery call or contact us today at translation@languageline.com to learn more.