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What is Martti? Real Time Interpretation in a Health Care Setting
What does Martti stand for?
Martti is an acronym for
My Accessible
Real Time
Trusted
Interpreter, a proprietary
remote video interpretation platform. It is a
product of Language Access Network (LAN), the
vendor the Horizon Foundation has contracted
with to provide language interpretation
services for deaf and non-English speaking
patients of Howard County General Hospital,
Chase Brexton and Healthy Howard.
Is there a need for this type of service
in Howard County?
Quite simply, yes. Of Howard County’s
287,085 residents*, almost 15% are foreign
born, according to 2010 Census data.
About 44% of Spanish speakers and 40%
of Asian language speakers in the county speak
English “less than well”. Most who
speak English “less than well” are older
(younger people are truly bilingual).
These numbers do not include the deaf and hard
of hearing community that knows/uses American
Sign Language (ASL) as their primary
language.**
Oftentimes, non-English speaking
residents bring relatives – including
children, or other non-medically trained help
– to interpret in a patient care situation.
Not being able to understand the doctor
dramatically increases the chances for far
worse outcomes than those who can follow a
doctor’s recommendation.
What are the other benefits of Martti to health care institutions in Howard County?
There is a tremendous cost-savings with
video interpretation.
Howard County General Hospital, for example,
currently has one, on-site Spanish
interpreter. More interpretive services
are needed to meet the demand.
In-person, direct interpretation is expensive. Even having interpreters “on call” can be prohibitive – many live outside the county, which can result in a delay of service, and most require a minimum number of hours of work once on -site. Tack that on to the time that it takes for a patient to move through series of tests, or waiting for different providers, and it adds up.
Martti services 170 languages including American Sign Language – and instead of being billed for ‘wait time’, the health care center is only charged for the time used.How does it work?
Through an Internet-connected, two-way video
terminal, the patient and physician connect to
Language Access Network’s Martti
for access to a live interpreter. The
unit can be used wirelessly, or can be
hardwired into the facility’s broadband
connection.
Once connected, Martti
connects practitioners and patients to
a trained and certified interpreter who not
only interpret the spoken word for the patient,
but pick up on non-verbal communication as
well. The interpreter is trained in medical
terminology to ensure that explanation from
the health professional to the patient is
accurate.
LAN's language centers are physically
located in Ohio and California.
Why Martti, and why now?
Access to Care is a strategic priority of
The Horizon Foundation. This project is just
one in the Access to Care initiative that aims
to improve reliability and efficiency for those
who are deaf, hard of hearing and/or
Non-English speaking.
After conducting best practices
research and an extensive vendor search,
Language Access Network’s Martti system
provided the most reliability and redundancy
in interpretation services.
Built into this pilot project is a
strong evaluation component. The Foundation
will gather data to determine whether this
technology will improve access, quality, and
cost-effectiveness of care delivered in these
three settings.
Where will the units be located?
Howard County General Hospital, Chase Brexton Health Services (the county’s only Federally Qualified Health Center), and the Healthy Howard Health Plan, (a local public-private partnership that provides comprehensive health care services to the county’s uninsured population) , will be participants in a two-year pilot program to address interpretation needs of deaf and non-English speaking residents.Howard County General Hospital will
implement eight Martti units, with one
back-up. Chase Brexton and Healthy Howard will
each get one.
Units first went into operation in November
2011.
Is there a difference between translation and interpretation?
Yes. Interpretation refers to the spoken word while translation refers to written language.Here is a demonstration of MARTTI:
*2010 Census
**American Community Survey