Improving Inpatient Language Access for Better, Patient-Centered Care: Partnering for Progress

1. Improving Inpatient Language Access for Better, Patient-Centered Care: Partnering for Progress Loretta Saint-Louis, Ph.D. Cambridge Health Alliance IMIA October 2007

2. Partnering for Progress Key Concepts in Inpatient Language Access Improvement • Patient-Centered care requires communication with the patient • Improving language access improves care for LEP patients • Language access requires collaboration between the manager, staff and providers of the inpatient unit and the manager and staff of interpreter services • Improvement has to be collaborative • Measurable quality improvement on measures clearly involving clinical care is most powerful

3. Partnering for Progress Patient-Centered Care • People are treated with dignity and respect • Health care providers communicate information with patients and families in ways that are affirming and useful • Individuals and families build on their strengths by participating in experiences that enhance control and independence • Collaboration among patients, families, and providers occur in the delivery of care, policy and program development, and professional education* *Source: Institute for Family-Centered Care

4. Partnering for Progress Patient-Centered Care and Safety • Provider-initiated and patient-initiated communication • Language access for both is a safety issue • Joint Commission SPEAK UP Campaign • Empower patients to ask questions! • Help prevent errors in your care • Help prevent mistakes in your surgery • Help prevent infection • Help avoid mistakes with your medication

5. Partnering for Progress Cambridge Health Alliance • Academic Public Healthcare System • Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Malden, Revere, Winthrop • Three acute care hospitals, 300 beds • 25 primary care sites • Interpreters on site at 12 sites, sent out • Public Health Department of Cambridge • Managed Care Medicaid Health Plan • Uncompensated Care Program

6. Partnering for Progress Linguistic Diversity at CHA • 45% of patients have a primary language other than English • 60+ languages in all, new languages arriving continuously • Linguistically diverse work force • Interpreter Services since 1970s

7. Partnering for Progress

8. Partnering for Progress Interpreter Services Capacity • 50+ FTE’s permanent staff • 100+ per diem medical interpreters • 24/7 service • Interpreter Agencies • Internal ACD phone system • Language Line • Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing & Deaf Talk videoconferencing ASL interpreting • 170,000+ encounters in FY07 • Interpreters enter encounters in database

10. Partnering for Progress Inpatient Interpreter Access: The Wake Up Call • Haitian inpatient with pain • A problem exposed • Using the story to motivate change • Applying for the grant

11. Partnering for Progress Language Access Improvement Projects • Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts 2005 – 2006, Pathways to Culturally Competent Care • Speaking Together Learning Collaborative in Quality Improvement, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2006 - 2008

12. Partnering for Progress Objectives of Project: Pathways • Improve our understanding and response to inpatient communication needs. • Improve access to language services. • Test new tools and processes for provider and patient initiated interpreter requests. • Improve cultural competency of inpatient unit

13. Partnering for Progress Objectives of Project: Speaking Together Inpatient Work • Measurable quality improvement in clinical care for LEP patients

14. Partnering for Progress Project Phases: Pathways • Needs Assessment June 05 – Dec 05 • Pilot Implementation Jan 06 – March 06 • Evaluation March 06 – June 06 • Implementation in Med/Surg June 06 – April 07 • Evaluation April – June 07

15. Partnering for Progress Project Phases: Speaking Together • Become familiar with 7 measures Dec – Jan 06 • Master data collection Feb 06 – July 07 • Quality Improvement Aug 07 – Feb 08

16. Partnering for Progress Participants/Stakeholders Pathways • Patients • Interpreters • Providers • Nurses • Staff • Evaluation • Risk Management • Patient Relations • Translation Coordinator • Interpreter Managers

17. Partnering for Progress Participants/Stakeholders Pathways • Learned that Interpreter Managers and Nurse Managers are key • Learned that a physician champion would be helpful • Needed stronger quality improvement component

18. Partnering for Progress Participants/Stakeholders Speaking Together • Interpreter managers and Interpreters • Providers, Nurse Managers, Nursing staff • Quality Management • Information Technology • Clinical Pharmacy • Physician Champion • Sr Vice President of Performance Improvement • Chief Nursing Officer • CEO • National Program Office of Speaking Together • 9 other hospitals in the Learning Collaborative

19. Partnering for Progress Pathways – Selecting the Pilot Unit • 6 North at Cambridge Hospital • Linguistic Diversity • Nurse Manager engaged already in Quality Improvement • Nurse Manager embraces cultural competency

20. Partnering for Progress Needs Assessment • Baseline data • Interpreter encounters per inpatient day • Total interpreter encounters • 10 inpatient interviews (Portuguese, Spanish, Haitian) • 2 focus groups with 6N providers and staff • 2 focus groups with medical interpreters • 1 online survey to reach other providers and staff • 1 online survey to reach other medical interpreters

21. Partnering for Progress Needs Assessment Sample Findings From the patients: “Sometimes I have trouble communicating. When I was asked how I was feeling, I could not answer. I understand a little bit of English but I don’t speak it at all.” From the providers and staff: “The [interpreter] delay is critical sometimes.” From the medical interpreters: “I waste a lot of time looking for the provider and the patient.” From review of volumes of interpreting Low ratios of interpretation activity per patient stay.

22. Partnering for Progress Linguistic Diversity at 6 North • In 2005, 43% patients primary language other than English (up 10% from 2004) • Interpreter encounters: • 759 in 2004 to • 1071 in 2005 • 760: January – June 2006 • Language Distribution: Portuguese, Spanish, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Amharic, Bengali, Italian, Nepalese, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Urdu

23. Partnering for Progress Languages of Patients on 6 North

24. Partnering for Progress Linguistic Diversity of Staff • 6N has 34 staff members • 50% Staff bilingual/multilingual • 33% of RNs, 80% of Nursing Assistants, 33% of Unit Secretaries

25. Partnering for Progress How did we improve the experience of our patients who speak other languages?

26. Partnering for Progress Welcome Letter to Patients & Interpreter Request Cards “Please call a medical interpreter so we can communicate better.”

27. Partnering for Progress Telephone Interpreting Equipment Dual handset and full duplex speaker phone capability at each bedside to facilitate telephone interpreting.

28. Partnering for Progress “You have a right to a medical interpreter at no cost to you.” 30 Language DPH Poster

29. Partnering for Progress Translated Materials Patient Education Materials clearly visible for nursing staff and providers. Several additional materials were translated.

30. Partnering for Progress Translated Materials Accessible to Patients Patient Materials and brochures also available in hallway for patients and family access.

31. Partnering for Progress How did we raise the awareness and what user-friendly tools did we provide for staff?

32. Partnering for Progress To call an interpreter any time, any site, any language Call x3333 Dial 1 for a face-to-face interpreter Dial 2 for a phone interpreter

33. Partnering for Progress • Portuguese • Arabic • Vietnamese • Chinese • Italian • Russian • Haitian • Spanish Hospital Phrase Booklets

34. Partnering for Progress Locator Board Language Magnets Language magnets easily identify patients that require interpreter assistance.

35. Partnering for Progress Communication to Staff Provider Board 6N Newsletter Emails Staff meetings CHA eBeat

36. Partnering for Progress • 2 in-services for interpreters (day & night) • 2 in-services for 6N staff (day & night) • Follow up meetings with interpreters In-services for 6N and for Interpreters

37. Partnering for Progress Best situations for phone interpreting: • For quick, focused conversation • Patient-initiated conversation/comfort issue • ADLs, When the matter is logistical or simple to explain Best situations for face-to-face interpreting: • For serious or bad news • For encounters that involve family discussion • For patient education • For confused or hard of hearing patients Guidelines (phone vs. face-to-face)

38. Partnering for Progress Four 6N bilingual staff were tested for linguistic proficiency and basic interpretation ability. The staff person who passed the test is the only one allowed to interpret for patients in the unit. Bilingual Staff Proficiency Testing

39. Partnering for Progress • The majority of nursingstaff at 6N completed the Quality Interactions Online Nursing Module, provided free of charge by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. • Interactive program that provided pretest, education, three patient encounters, and a post test. • Several providers completed the Quality Interactions Online Physician Module. Cultural Competency Training

40. Partnering for Progress Inpatient Interpreter Rounds Empower Patients • Office of Minority Health best practices • Introduce patient to interpreter services and teach them how to access interpreters • Daily check in with patient about communication needs • Identify individualized linguistic needs and collaborate with nursing staff

41. Partnering for Progress Cultural Ambassador at 6 North • Point person for co-workers in addressing cultural and linguistic issues • Helps ensure that their department meets the cultural and linguistic needs of patients. • Works with their cultural supporter, Multilingual Interpreting, and others to implement improvements.

42. Partnering for Progress Challenges for Interpreter Service • Limited staff (timeliness and access) • Simultaneous demands of all departments & sites • Inpatient needs seen as less time sensitive than ambulatory and emergency departments • Logistics of covering interpreter rounds • Evening, overnight, and weekend coverage

43. Partnering for Progress Improved interpreter access • Reprioritized interpreter dispatching for inpatients • Posted Multilingual Manager pager numbers for delays over 15/30 minutes • Staffed interpreter rounds, developed protocol • Interpreters document in medical record with stickers readily available on the unit • More complete information to interpreter on who needs them

44. Partnering for Progress • Inpatient personal interviews • Online survey for providers and staff • Online survey for interpreters • Press Ganey Quarterly Results • Interpreter Inpatient Reports Audit • Interpreter Round Observation • Periodic Data & Interpreter Activity Review • Encounter Statistics Reviews Evaluation of Pilot

45. Partnering for Progress Periodic patient interviews (n=4) • Increase of 50% on knowing of right to an interpreter • Increase of 40% of patients interviewed not given cards • 25% received translated materials (baseline none) • 25% had interpreter round at least once (baseline 10%) • 100% satisfied with timeliness (same as baseline)

46. Partnering for Progress • 50% utilized locator board • 37% had trouble accessing interpreters (baseline 71%) • 100% had used telephone interpreting (speakerphone) • 75% had read face-to-face vs. telephone guidelines • 25% were shown interpreter request cards by patients Online provider/staff surveys (n=18)

47. Partnering for Progress • 75% said it was very or somewhat easy to interpret with the speakerphone/handset • 40% unaware of changes at 6 North • 37.5% had not seen the locator board • 60% didn’t know name of Cultural Ambassador • 75% read interpreter round guidelines Online interpreter surveys (n=28)

48. Partnering for Progress • 4 medical records are reviewed at a time (Haitian, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi) • Reviewed notes of interactions with patients and documentation of interpreter present • Compared to Multilingual Departments’ data on interpreted encounters with patients • Primary findings: low utilization of medical interpreters and incomplete documentation on medical records Medical Record Audits

49. Partnering for Progress • Pilot unit: 84% increase in interpreter encounters per inpatient day – from 0.9 in FY05 to 1.66 in FY07 • Increase in interpreter rounds • Increase in patient satisfaction • Gains on pilot unit spread to other units even before formal implementation • Modest gains on other four units during implementation year BCBS Results

50. Partnering for Progress • Improvement work takes focused, prolonged attention, Project Manager • Listen respectfully, learning the perspective of patients, providers, and staff on the unit • Nurse managers and staff can best identify what will be useful to them • Communication tips • Short, focused meetings at times that fit • Short, bullet points on documents Lessons Learned