How CIUSSS Centre-Ouest Cut 75% of their Interpretation Costs per Appointment with Martti

Background 

CIUSSS Centre-Ouest serves the most diverse population on the Island of Montreal, with Quebec welcoming 560,000 immigrants at the end of 2023, more than half of Canada's asylum seekers. 

Last year alone, CIUSSS had 25,000 interpretation calls – 70 calls per day. 

Prior to Martti, CIUSSS needed to book an interpretation appointment in advance with a minimum 2 hour face-to-face appointment, regardless of the true service time needed.

This caused the hospital’s spending on interpretation fees to more than double between 2018 and 2024, rising from $670,333 to $1,463,405. 

Not only was CIUSSS facing high costs, lack of flexibility, and cumbersome processes, but they were receiving complaints from both patients and clinicians. It was clear the hospital needed to address these challenges to reduce costs and ensure proper care for their patients.

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Solution

CIUSSS turned to Martti (formerly Voyce), with a clear vision in mind:

“Provide an on-demand interpreting platform that gives allophone patients equitable access to quality care, so that the right care can be provided to the right person at the right time, while substantially reducing the costs associated with the use of interpreters.”

CIUSSS deployed Martti with a phased approach, beginning with a pilot project in 2023. 

Within just three months, CIUSSS reduced their budget deficit by $168,000, sparking an expanded deployment to more units and a full contract. 

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Outcomes 

CIUSSS quickly saw significant improvements in all areas of focus, including the cost of interpretation services, the overall efficiency of interpretation appointments, and patient/provider satisfaction.

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Despite the significant trends of increasing costs over the past few years, CIUSSS saw:

59% reduction in expenditure growth ¹

75% lower costs per appointment

6 minutes saved per call

14,213 fewer appointments to manage

4,200 hours saved per year ²

1,400 hours saved for clinicians  

86% improvement in the process - 7 steps to 1

Flexibility for clinicians ³

92% clinician satisfaction with service quality

0 complaints - post implementation

Martti's on-demand interpretation service has been transformative for CIUSSS Centre-Ouest – not only drastically reducing costs, but also improving patient care and satisfaction. 

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<sub>Footnotes
1. Post-implementation
2. For administrative tasks linked to connecting with interpreters
3. Telework, on the go, on any device, no consequences for rescheduled/canceled appointments</sub>