Emergency Over the Phone Interpreting for spoken language
The Health Care Authority (HCA) is implementing an emergency interim policy change to allow spoken language interpreters to interpret remotely.
For dates of services on and after March 30, 2020, spoken language interpreters may participate in your healthcare appointments, including telemedicine/telehealth appointments, using phone and video methods.
How do I use this?
To use this option, you must include the phone number or video link in the "interpreter notes" field of the request.
When does this begin?
Effective immediately, you may start updating your interpreter requests for March 30, 2020 and after. It is your responsibility to provide the needed contact information and to coordinate with the interpreter on any issues or troubleshooting needs.
How long does this last?
This is an interim policy only, while HCA works to implement over the phone interpreting through our vendor, Universal Language Service (Universal). More information will be provided in the near future.
Universal will send out further information to assist you in understanding how to edit your already scheduled appointments and how to enter the required information into the "interpreter notes" field of the request.
What do I need to do?
For already scheduled appointments (on or after March 30, 2020)
You must update the request by adding the phone number or video link in the "interpreter notes" field.
The interpreter is not required to participate using these methods. If they do not want to complete the job, they will return it and it will be available for another interpreter to accept.
Please update your requests as soon as possible to allow the requests to be filled. You are responsible for providing the correct phone and/or video link and coordinating with the interpreter to assist them in accessing the healthcare appointment.
Note: You are still responsible for checking the interpreter in and out using the Universal Language platform.
For new appointments (on or after March 30, 2020)
When entering a new request, you must add the phone number or video link to the “interpreter notes” field.
The interpreter is not required to participate using these methods. If they do not want to complete the job, they will return it and it will be available for another interpreter to accept.
Please enter your requests as soon as possible to allow the requests to be filled. You are responsible for providing the correct phone and/or video link and coordinating with the interpreter to assist them in accessing the healthcare appointment.
Note: You are still responsible for checking the interpreter in and out using the Universal Language platform.
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