Cambridge Health Alliance Pioneers Jaide Health AI-Powered Translation to Enhance Patient Care
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), a community health system committed to serving a highly diverse patient population with close to half of all patients speaking a primary language other than English, today announced a groundbreaking pilot program with Jaide Health. This initiative will empower CHA's world-class language services team with cutting-edge AI translation technology, further solidifying CHA's dedication to providing equitable and accessible health care.
CHA has a longstanding history of prioritizing language access, with 650,000 interpreter-assisted encounters provided in 2024 across 120 different languages, utilizing in-person, remote video, and telephonic modalities. The robust Multicultural Affairs and Patient Services department, offering interpreter services in over 70 languages in person, underscores CHA's commitment to language diversity.
The pilot program with Jaide Health introduces HIPAA-compliant instant AI translation, enabling CHA interpreters to deliver personalized care instructions to patients with unparalleled efficiency. This technology will allow interpreters to operate at the top of their license, focusing on complex cases while AI handles routine translation tasks.
"We don't want language to be a barrier to health care," said Hannah Galvin, MD, CHA's chief health information officer. "We are committed to leveraging innovative technologies like Jaide AI translation to further empower our exceptional interpreters and enhance patient care."
The journey to this pilot began over a year ago when Dr. Galvin met with Jaide Health co-founders Joe Corkery, MD, and Julie Wilner, RN. Dr. Galvin expressed "We would like to continue to leverage technology to provide services without compromising quality. I see AI gaining a lot of ground in this space."
Avlot Quessa, CHA senior multicultural affairs director and project sponsor, emphasized the quality of Jaide Health's translations. "You can tell a translation has high quality when it conveys clearly the intent of the original document. That's what our reviewers see when they review Jaide translations for quality assurance."
CHA interpreters will operate and monitor the use and rollout of this technology before expanding its application to other use cases. The organization aims to significantly increase the availability of written materials in multiple languages, without imposing undue burden on its interpreter team.
"This pilot program represents a significant step forward in our ongoing efforts to ensure that every patient receives the highest quality care, regardless of language barriers," said Dr. Galvin. "We are excited to partner with Jaide Health and explore the potential of AI to enhance our language services."
CHA looks forward to expanding the use cases of this technology, ultimately improving the patient experience for its diverse community.
About Cambridge Health Alliance
Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) is an academic community health system committed to providing high-quality care in Cambridge, Somerville and Boston's metro-north communities. CHA has expertise in primary care, specialty care and mental health/substance use services, as well as caring for diverse and complex populations. It includes two hospital campuses, a network of primary care and specialty practices and the Cambridge Public Health Dept. CHA patients have seamless access to advanced care through the system's affiliation with Beth Israel Lahey Health. CHA is a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate and is also affiliated with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard School of Dental Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine
About Jaide Health
Jaide Health is a technology company developing AI-powered healthcare-specific, foreign language interpretation and translation services. Leveraging recent advances in large language models, Jaide Health enables healthcare organizations to improve the overall experience for patients with Limited English Proficiency. Led by "techy clinicians" and security/privacy experts, Jaide Health is venture backed by Inovia Capital, Flare Capital, and Innovation Global.