The Office of Minority Health (OMH) has played a pioneering role in the development of VMI. A $765,000 grant from OMH to the Alameda County Medical Center (ACMC) funded both a pilot program in telemedicine and the first stages of a project to provide interpretation services via video conferencing. Currently, VMI is offered in all ACMC clinics. The initial success led to expansion of the video conferencing medical interpretation program thanks to grants, from other sources, including the California Endowment.

 

      Russell, from ACMC, says that OMH played a key role in initiating development of this project and she estimates that the amount granted by OMH has covered about 30% of the costs associated with the implementation of VMI services in the Alameda County’s health network.

 

      Russell adds that "before video interpretation was available, the ACMC interpreters were tied up longer with each patient, and could not interpret for each and every visit."

Language is more than words, and we all can relate to the image of someone pointing to some part of her body to indicate where the pain is or how the pains travels down a leg. So, Russell emphasizes the benefit of the video interpretation system that allows the interpreter to actually see the gestures a patient uses to express his symptoms... saving the money and time of traveling from site to site.

 

      In essence, Russell concludes, the availability of the VMI system allows for a faster service to the patient and a shorter visit; more accurate diagnosis and treatment in a cost effective way; and lower costs and multiplied benefits to entire health care networks by sharing interpretation resources.

 

       San Joaquin Hospital and San Mateo Medical Center are two of the California hospitals that have implemented the VMI based partially on the ACMC project. Video Medical Interpretation is also used these days in other states. The Central Nebraska Area Health Education Center promotes the use of VMI through its website, informing of its availability in at least four hospitals in the area.

 

For more information about the Video Medical Interpretation Project visit:

http://health-access.org/videomedint.htm

 

 

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THE CONNECTION/march 2007       ISSUE#9