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Announcement
No Barrier Raises $2.7 Million to Eliminate Language Barriers in Healthcare 💪
No Barrier Raises $2.7 Million 💪
No Barrier Raises $2.7 Million
Eyal Heldenberg
Co-founder and CEO, building No Barrier
July 10, 2025
November 27, 2025
5
Minute Read
When patients and providers can't communicate effectively, medical errors increase, treatment plans fail, and trust breaks down. As healthcare organizations seek solutions to bridge these gaps, they face a critical decision: AI or human medical interpreters?
This comprehensive guide examines both options, helping healthcare leaders make informed choices that improve patient outcomes while managing costs and compliance requirements.
Understanding the Current Healthcare Communication Challenge
Language barriers affect millions of patients across the United States. With over 42% of patients now identifying as racial or ethnic minorities, healthcare organizations must provide effective interpretation services to ensure quality care for all patients. [1]
The stakes are high. Poor communication due to language barriers leads to:
The Affordable Care Act requires healthcare organizations to provide qualified interpretation services for patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). [8] This isn't just about meeting legal requirements—it's about delivering equitable care that saves lives and improves outcomes.
Traditional human interpretation services, while valuable, come with significant challenges. Healthcare providers report waiting up to 20 minutes for interpreter connections, technical issues that disrupt care, and inconsistent quality that affects patient understanding. These problems have sparked interest in AI-powered alternatives.
AI medical interpretation technology has advanced rapidly, offering compelling advantages for healthcare organizations seeking reliable, efficient communication solutions.
The financial impact of AI interpretation can be substantial. Smaller healthcare organizations benefit the most. Clinics that previously couldn't afford professional interpretation services can now provide quality language support at a fraction of traditional costs.
AI interpreters provide 24/7 availability across all time zones without scheduling delays. This immediate access eliminates the waiting times that disrupt patient care and create workflow inefficiencies. Healthcare providers no longer need to:
AI interpretation creates a more private, intimate healthcare environment. Patients can communicate directly with their providers without the physical presence of a third party, which can be particularly important during sensitive medical discussions.
In “Artificial intelligence in clinical settings: a systematic review of its role in language translation and interpretation”, Genovese et al. (2024) detailed how research shows patients respond positively to AI translation services, with 84-96% indicating willingness to use the technology again. [9] Many patients report feeling greater comfort and respect when receiving medical information in their native language.
Despite AI advances, human interpreters offer unique capabilities that remain essential in many healthcare scenarios.
Human interpreters excel at understanding subtle communication cues, implied meanings, and complex medical situations that require judgment calls. They can:
Healthcare communication often involves delivering difficult news, managing patient anxiety, and providing emotional support. Human interpreters serve as "agents of empathy," adjusting their tone, pace, and emotional delivery based on the situation. [10]
This emotional intelligence becomes particularly crucial during:
Professional medical interpreters understand cultural contexts that go beyond language translation. They can:
Certain medical scenarios require human judgment and adaptability:
When determining whether to rely on AI or human interpreters, it’s important to consider the specific context and sensitivity of the interaction. While AI interpreters are rapidly advancing and can handle a significant majority of standard communication, certain scenarios still require the nuanced understanding and empathy that only human interpreters can provide.
Human interpreters excel in situations that demand deep cultural sensitivity, emotional intelligence, and absolute precision. For example, in end-of-life care discussions, where patients and families are navigating grief and critical decision-making, the human touch fosters trust and emotional support. Similarly, during serious mental health assessments or when addressing patients in acute emotional distress, a human interpreter can better provide the reassurance and understanding needed to ease communication.
Scenarios involving elderly patients with significant hearing loss also highlight the need for human expertise. The back-and-forth nuances of communication in such cases may be challenging for AI systems, making the adaptability of a human interpreter essential. Furthermore, interpreters are invaluable when working with rare or less commonly spoken languages, also referred to as "long-tail languages," where current AI capabilities may fall short. These cases often require a level of cultural context and linguistic accuracy that technology has not fully mastered yet.
Another vital consideration is American Sign Language (ASL), where current AI technologies are not yet mature enough to fully bridge the gap for deaf or hard-of-hearing patients. ASL is a highly visual and context-driven language, and while innovations are underway, it’s predicted that technology in this area will take a significant leap forward by 2026. Until then, reliance on skilled human interpreters remains critical in ASL-dependent settings.
Use Human Interpreters For:
Despite these exceptions, for day-to-day healthcare scenarios, AI interpreters are proving to be a game-changer. Routine appointments, medication explanations, and administrative conversations can often be handled more efficiently by AI with greater speed, cost-effectiveness, and in many cases, accuracy. This makes AI interpreters an invaluable resource in high-volume outpatient settings or preventive care visits. The instant availability of AI means fewer delays and broader access, ultimately benefiting both patients and healthcare providers.
The emergence of AI in medical interpreting is not about replacing humans but rather creating a partnership where each can be deployed effectively. For highly sensitive or complex situations, human interpreters remain an irreplaceable resource. Yet for the majority of healthcare exchanges, AI offers a practical, scalable solution that can enhance accessibility while optimizing resources.
Use AI Interpreters For:
Healthcare organizations considering AI interpretation should evaluate potential vendors across several critical dimensions.
Request documented accuracy rates for your patient population's primary languages. Look for vendors that:
Ensure any AI solution meets healthcare's strict regulatory requirements:
Assess which languages represent 90% of your non-English speaking patients. Prioritize vendors that:
Seamless workflow integration is essential for adoption success:
Partner with vendors that understand healthcare's unique requirements:
The most promising approach combines AI and human interpreters in a hybrid model that leverages each method's strengths. This integrated approach allows healthcare organizations to:
Emerging technologies will continue improving AI capabilities:
Healthcare organizations that adopt thoughtful, phased implementation strategies position themselves to benefit from both current capabilities and future innovations.
Language barriers shouldn't determine the quality of care patients receive. Whether through AI, human interpreters, or a combination of both, healthcare organizations have powerful tools available to bridge communication gaps and improve outcomes.
The key is making informed decisions based on your patient population's needs, your organizational capabilities, and your commitment to providing equitable care for all patients. Start by assessing your current interpretation needs, explore available technologies, and develop a phased implementation approach that prioritizes patient safety and satisfaction.
Effective communication saves lives. The technology and expertise exist to ensure every patient receives the care they deserve, regardless of the language they speak.
📚 Resources
1. KFF. (2024, October 24). Key data on health and health care by race and Ethnicity | KFF. https://www.kff.org/key-data-on-health-and-health-care-by-race-and-ethnicity/?entry=racial-diversity-within-the-u-s-today-total-population-by-race-and-ethnicity
2. Rajaram, A., Thomas, D., Sallam, F., Verma, A. A., & Rawal, S. (2020). Accuracy of the preferred language field in the electronic health records of two Canadian hospitals. Applied Clinical Informatics, 11(04), 644–649. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0040-1715896
3. Burkle, C. M., Anderson, K. A., Xiong, Y., Guerra, A. E., & Tschida-Reuter, D. A. (2017). Assessment of the efficiency of language interpreter services in a busy surgical and procedural practice. BMC Health Services Research, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2425-7
4. Nápoles, A. M., Santoyo-Olsson, J., Karliner, L. S., Gregorich, S. E., & Pérez-Stable, E. J. (2015). Inaccurate language interpretation and its clinical significance in the medical encounters of Spanish-speaking Latinos. Medical Care, 53(11), 940–947. https://doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0000000000000422
5. Squires, A., Ma, C., Miner, S., Feldman, P., Jacobs, E. A., & Jones, S. A. (2021). Assessing the influence of patient language preference on 30 day hospital readmission risk from home health care: A retrospective analysis. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 125, 104093. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.104093
6. Escobedo, L. E., Cervantes, L., & Havranek, E. (2023). Barriers in Healthcare for Latinx Patients with Limited English Proficiency—a Narrative Review. Journal of General Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-022-07995-3
7. Diamond, L., Izquierdo, K., Canfield, D., Matsoukas, K., & Gany, F. (2019). A Systematic review of the impact of Patient–Physician Non-English Language concordance on quality of care and outcomes. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 34(8), 1591–1606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-04847-5
8. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA). (2022, March 16). About the Affordable Care Act. HHS.gov. https://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/about-the-aca/index.html
9. Genovese, A., Borna, S., Gomez-Cabello, C. A., Haider, S. A., Prabha, S., Forte, A. J., & Veenstra, B. R. (2024). Artificial intelligence in clinical settings: a systematic review of its role in language translation and interpretation. Annals of Translational Medicine, 12(6), 117. https://doi.org/10.21037/atm-24-162
10. Gutierrez, A. M., Statham, E. E., Robinson, J. O., Slashinski, M. J., Scollon, S., Bergstrom, K. L., Street, R. L., Parsons, D. W., Plon, S. E., & McGuire, A. L. (2018). Agents of empathy: How medical interpreters bridge sociocultural gaps in genomic sequencing disclosures with Spanish-speaking families. Patient Education and Counseling, 102(5), 895–901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2018.12.012
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