BASKING RIDGE, NJ and PLEASANTON, CA--(Marketwire - November 19, 2008) - At Harborview Medical
Center, a new unified communications and call center solution from Avaya
and Polycom (
NASDAQ:
PLCM) helps physicians and staff serve a growing
population of non-English-speaking patients more effectively and
efficiently. Real-time videoconferencing sessions enable doctors to
"virtually" bring interpreters into the office to help diagnose and treat
patients in a fraction of the time it would have taken previously.
As the only public hospital in the Seattle area, Harborview cares for
nearly 300,000 inpatient, outpatient and emergency services visits
annually. The hospital serves a large number of patients for whom English
is not the primary language(1) and who require translation services for
accurate diagnosis and treatment. While the hospital maintains a staff of
interpreters, each one can typically accompany a maximum of eight patient
visits per day when doing so in-person. As a result, some routine
appointments could be delayed due to interpreter availability, and drop-in
patients could face a longer wait in a clinic than anticipated.
To improve the scheduling issues and enhance care for these patients,
Harborview tried phone-based interpreting using a centralized staff of
interpreters. While the solution was efficient, the voice-only service
lacked the ability for the interpreter to see the patient and doctor and
vice versa -- an important visual component that's crucial during diagnosis
and that helps build trust. The recent addition of the Avaya Video
Telephony Solution with Polycom videoconferencing enables the hospital to
triple the volume of patient visits a call center-based interpreter can
manage daily with the quality of care and patient experience on which
Harborview built its reputation.
"We had specific requirements for this to succeed," said Jeremy Wu, network
engineer, University of Washington. "It had to be powerful, easy-to-use and
practical. If the solution was too complex, doctors wouldn't use it. We
needed high-quality audio and video that reduced strain or error and one
that could integrate with existing technology."
The solution, managed for Harborview by the University of Washington,
integrates the university's Avaya Communication Manager IP Telephony and
Contact Center applications with Polycom video endpoints on agent desktops
in the Interpretive Services call center and on mobile carts in a pilot
clinic. The video and audio clarity allows interpreters to clearly see and
hear patients, including the important subtleties in both verbal and
non-verbal communication.
Now, when a physician has a patient in need of interpretive services, the
mobile cart with the video unit is sent to the examination room. A
built-in directory offers a menu of available languages and the doctor
simply uses the remote control to select the appropriate language to
initiate the call. The video call is routed to the group of interpreters
with that language skill, or if all are currently engaged with other
patients, the video call goes into the queue and is delivered to the first
available interpreter.
About Avaya Video Telephony Solutions
With more than 25,000 video endpoints already deployed, Avaya Video
Telephony provides a full range of capabilities through Avaya Communication
Manager to make video a practical solution for any business, including:
-- Desktop video -- allows users to place a voice call with Avaya IP
Softphone or Avaya one-X® Communicator and add video with the click of a
button. Audio can be delivered to the PC or to the enterprise desk phone.
-- Conference room video -- enables users to quickly launch a group voice
and video call using a Polycom HDX or VSX series system.
-- Multipoint video -- provides voice, video and unified (voice and
video) conferencing for users in multiple locations by leveraging a Polycom
RMX 2000 and MGC Multipoint Control unit.
NOTE: To view the Harborview Medical Center Interpretive Services video
case study, visit:
http://www.avaya.com/gcm/master-usa/en-us/casestudy/filter.htm&Filter=CollectionSearch:harborview
About Harborview Medical Center
Harborview Medical Center is owned by King County, managed by the
University of Washington and part of the UW Medicine system of care. It is
the only Level I adult and pediatric trauma center and regional burn center
for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WAMI). A comprehensive
health-care facility, Harborview is dedicated to the control of illness and
the promotion and restoration of health. In addition to being a "safety
net hospital" providing care to the underserved, Harborview is the hospital
of choice for many privately insured patients seeking a variety of services
such as neurosurgery, reconstruction and rehabilitation and orthopedics.
For more information, visit:
www.harborview.org
About Avaya
Avaya delivers Intelligent
Communications solutions that help companies transform their businesses to
achieve marketplace advantage. More than 1 million businesses worldwide,
including more than 90 percent of the FORTUNE 500®, use Avaya solutions
for IP Telephony, Unified Communications, Contact Centers and
Communications Enabled Business Processes. Avaya Global Services provides
comprehensive service and support for companies, small to large. For more
information visit the Avaya Web site:
http://www.avaya.com.
About Polycom
Polycom, Inc. (
NASDAQ:
PLCM) is the global leader in telepresence, video,
and voice solutions and a visionary in communications that empower people
to connect and collaborate everywhere. Please visit
www.polycom.com for
more information.
(1) According to 2007 U.S. Census study, 20 percent of Seattle's total
population over 5 speaks a language other than English at home; and 9
percent reported speaking English "less than very well."
Contact Information: Deb Kline
Avaya
908-953-6179
klined@avaya.com
Kevin Young
Polycom
720-596-4772
kyoung@polycom.com