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Because your voice matters.

Patient Stories/Testimonials for Virtual Accessibility Tools

Posted

Closed

Open to Provincial Region

Posted

The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) Office of Virtual Health and Provincial Language Services are seeking testimonials from patients who have used:
• Remote Interpreting Video (VRI)
• Interpreting services during virtual health visits
• Captioning during Zoom for Healthcare virtual health visits

The Virtual Interpreting Provincial Expansion project aims to promote virtual health tools for patients who have limited English proficiency, or are Deaf, Deaf-Blind, or Hard of Hearing. The goal of the project is to increase awareness and expand the availability of these tools for patients across the province. Having testimonials from patients who have used the virtual interpreting tools and benefited from them will help promote their adoption.

Patient stories or testimonials will be used in the communications campaign for the Virtual Interpreting Provincial Expansion project. Sharing stories from patients will help illustrate how accessibility tools reduce or eliminate many challenges:
•Language barriers can cause a number of challenges during a medical appointment, including patients misunderstanding key medical information, which can lead to frustration for patients and providers, as well as confusion with care plans.
• Not having access to on-demand interpreting services with proper equipment can delay care. Other challenges include rescheduling appointments, scheduling conflicts, and using ad hoc language resources such as patients’ family and friends.
• Language barriers have a direct impact on patient care outcomes. Accessibility tools aim to improve health equity by reducing the impact of language barrier on patients’ care outcome.

If interested in providing a story or testimonial please contact Kris Olsen: kristen.olsen@phsa.ca

From Our Community

Derek Koch

Spiritual Health Practitioner and Patient- and Family-Centred Care Lead — Kelowna General Hospital

Derek Koch

The bottom line is because we’re caring for patients. People who know best are those who are receiving the care so it makes logical sense that we would consult with them about their experiences. By connecting with PVN we have been able to educate our teams about the value of patient partners and how important their perspective is in our services.