Video remote interpreting has no place in medical settings

Video remote interpreting (VRI) has no place in medical appointments especially sensitive appointments, period.  I was upset that the first time I was meeting the oncologist in New York City I ended up not having an interpreter again! I was thinking yesterday, "Jeez. I don't recommend that deaf people get cancer because access seems to be a big issue!" Cancer happens to anyone. Oh well. What happened- the system failed me again. Twice in Annapolis and now in New York City. That must change.

My friend called the center's interpreter coordination office on Monday to find out if we had a live interpreter confirmed. The woman he spoke with refused to give us any information about who and which agency citing HIPAA as the reason.  This did not make sense at all.  But said we had to ask the doctors office to get that information. We couldn't get this information.

At first, the appointment was frustrating for me. They did not have a sign language interpreter!!!!! ACK.  When we arrived, they told my friend they were going with a VRI. My friend told them it was NOT an option. They then said they found someone who was on the way. Our appointment was delayed for an hour. Then we were called in. A Spanish staff interpreter gave my friend her business card and she was fiddling with a laptop to get VRI to work.  My friend believes that they erroneously sent a Spanish interpreter and at the last minute realized what they were supposed to send was a sign language interpreter.

The Spanish interpreter and a man were inside the exam room with the VRI machine (MAARTI) which was the same company as the one that crashed at my first oncology appointment in Annapolis. The nurse was trying to get me settled in and changed but I wasn't comfortable. My friend was getting frustrated asking where the live interpreter we were promised was. The Spanish staff interpreter kept on saying she was still trying to locate one and that VRI would have to do. Right in front of our eyes, the VRI machine crashed several times. A connection with an interpreter would happen then the video connection freezes. We knew that it was not going to work.

In my experience using VRI for some work meetings, I think VRI is okay for some specific situations if the need arises but NOT in medical settings.  In order to ensure a smooth video connection , connection via Ethernet is key, not WiFi because in medical centers there are competition over bandwidth. Audio interpretation works fine on WiFi. Spoken language interpretations may work well but not sign language interpretations. The machine was on WiFi and connections kept on dropping.

The nurse really wanted to get started. The Spanish interpreter and the guy kept on trying. My friend asked them to leave the room as they were making things worse by insisting to make the VRI machine work when it was an obvious failure. They wouldn't leave.  I started crying.  My friend was getting angry and told them to leave.  The Spanish interpreter wouldn't leave.  My friend asked the nurse to tell them to leave because they were making it worse.  The nurse closed the door on her and got me settled in. I changed clothes.  My friend asked a friend to help.  Their friend agreed to call us on FaceTime on my iPad and interpret for free.  The FaceTime connection was much better than the MAARTI machine but even so, there were some delays in the video feed.  What worked out well was having my friend voice my questions and comments while their friend signed for the doctor.  It was at least some kind of communication access.

While the doctor was getting my history she asked me what I do for a living. I said I'm an administrator of an interpreting agency and they all laughed. The irony of it all... I cannot get an interpreter even though I work for a company that provides interpreters.

The Spanish staff interpreter brought her boss over to the clinic to catch us after the appointment. I was too overwhelmed and didn't want to deal with them. My friend was angry and told them to leave us alone. I went to sit to wait for the nurse to bring out paperwork for me to complete before I can be checked out.

My friend decided to go down to see if he could catch the interpreter coordinator. He did. They had a talk. The coordinator was very nervous because they knew they messed up. My friend told him what it felt to be without access and on top of it all it's cancer! The coordinator started crying and feeling horrible. He wrote a note to me for my friend to pass along. But my friend told him to give it to me himself. They came back up to the clinic. The coordinator was nervous and gave me a note. It was an apology note and they said they already confirmed an interpreter for my next visit in two weeks. I thanked him but firmly told him he had to work with me in ensuring effective accommodations going forward. Dr. Jewell and her nurse, Rashidad were very sympathetic to our cause and promised to fight for a live interpreter going forward as well.

Cancer is a battle in itself. We have had to fight for access. We need to fight for other deaf people. The fact VRI is not reliable makes it an unfit solution for sensitive medical appointments.