Using Data & Technology to Reduce Over-The-Phone Interpretation (OPI) Costs

With a large and diverse population of limited-English proficient (LEP) members and patients, the client needed a HIPAA-compliant telephone interpretation services vendor that could connect to highly-qualified interpreters in seconds.

The client also needed a vendor that could handle its large call volume and its unique data collection requirements In addition, the client had already incorporated a variety of telephone interpreting applications into their existing process.

A nationwide contract meant that calls would be highly varied and complex in nature. Calls could be expected to come from a number of locations, and include: health and medical services, emergency services, appointments and nurse advice services, and other ancillary insurance and medical services. Finally, the client had difficulties with interpretation accuracy and the customer service abilities of their former vendor.

After choosing ULG to take over their interpretation services, the client immediately realized an upgrade in both service quality and interpreter accuracy. Using best-in-class technologies and a vast interpreter network, ULG was able to fulfill interpretation calls in over 225 different languages.

Additionally, ULG’s technologies and user interfaces were able to meet the data collection needs required by the client. In this case, ULG was able to collect data on interpretation call volumes and quality for each of the client’s unique identification codes, which tied back to one of over 650 company locations.

Using this data, ULG provided the client with monthly and quarterly reports illustrating usage for each location and included the following information: 

• Reporting period (including date and time of each call)
• ANI (automatic number identification)
• Originating/Incoming phone number for each call
• Department Identification Code & Location Identification Codes (Alpha/Numeric)
• Employee ID number and Employee name
• Number of calls and Number of Minutes
• Interpreter Connection (in seconds)
• Call Duration (in minutes)
• Total Number of Calls
• Languages
• Interpreter ID