The GLOBO Blog

"If you think hiring a professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur." You've probably heard this quote before, and it couldn't be more true when it comes to hiring a language services provider. 

On paper and without any real probing, the language services provider offering the lowest per-minute cost may seem like the best option. But the hidden costs of inefficiency, poor service and angry customers are going to lurk under those “great” prices. And they're going to surface... with a vengeance.

To avoid a last-minute language support fire drill, consider these questions to help you better understand a provider’s offerings and find the language services provider that can offer you the most long-term value. 

Patients are more empowered than ever before. 

And though improved Patient Experience has long been a healthcare industry goal, what it means to be truly patient-focused is challenged daily. With individuals creating communities to explore health solutions and conduct their own research, in addition to healthcare institutions developing patient think tanks and innovation programs, the spirit of the Maker Movement is alive and well in the healthcare space.

In order for these collaborative spaces for patient-provider exchanges and research to be truly useful, everyone needs to speak the same language (literally and figuratively). Understanding and acknowledging differences in cultural background, learning style, and expectations, means that collaborative innovation can take place in a more profound way. And recording patient data in a contextualized manner, means innovation can happen more quickly.

This week, we're interested in what it means to put the patient at the center of innovation. We've collected ideas from around the web on health makerspaces, contextualized data, and decentralized research to get our wheels turning on how to include the 'Patient' as an active participant in 'Patient Experience'.

Transitions in care -- when a patient moves from one setting of care to another -- represent significant vulnerability for all patients. When a patient is Limited English Proficient, opportunities for miscommunication pose an added challenge in transitioning their care safely. 

It is no secret that business of healthcare in the US is expensive, inefficient and ripe for disruption. For over a decade, prognosticators have touted the benefits of telemedicine as a key disruptor with visions of a holographic doctor who makes housecalls.

Why Philadelphia is our top pick for business, tech and culture.

Philadelphia is one of the greatest cities in the world. As the nation’s first capital and the birthplace of American independence, the city is rich in history. But it’s also a hub of creativity, entrepreneurialism and culture. Philadelphia, the nation’s 5th largest city and 2nd largest on the East Coast, has nurtured a unique ecosystem of business and technological innovation. Being recognized by this city as #7 on the Philadelphia 100® means a lot to us.

The recent past has seen our world grow ever more productive and efficient. Now, we’re prioritizing empathy.

From customized shopping experiences to personalized telemedicine, the trend across industries is to innovate, humanize, and make meaning at the individual level. The result? Increasingly less tolerance for a poor experience: including one that isn’t delivered in the customer’s or patient’s preferred language.

This week, we’re interested in the future. We’ve gathered some ideas from around the web, and invite you to imagine with us what the future could look like as experiences become more empathetic and communication more seamless across channels and across languages. The possibilities are endless.

There are two primary modes of interpretation — simultaneous and consecutive. Both are used to bridge language barriers and help people understand each other, but it's important to understand their differences so you can identify which one is best for your particular use case. 

So what's the difference and how do you know which to use when?