Company: Pocketalk
CEO: Noriyuki Matsuda
Website: https://www.pocketalk.com
About Pocketalk
With over one million units sold globally and over 400 million translations generated, Pocketalk is a multi-sensory, two-way translation device that utilises the best translation engines to provide communication across 92 languages.
Pocketalk is a handheld translation device that is mainly used in healthcare, education, logistics and governmental and local authority services and departments globally to break down language barriers. Pocketalk software is also available as an app version that can be added to existing tech devices in healthcare and other settings.
Pocketalk seamlessly facilitates communication through convenient, instantaneous, secure, accurate, GDPR-compliant, AI-powered translation software. The devices also have a one-off cost and are quick and easy to use.
In the healthcare sector, using a Pocketalk obviates the need for human translators or other translation solutions. These include calls to translation service phonelines that are expensive and slow to access, as well as the reliance on patients’ family members, friends or members of staff that can create safeguarding issues. When lives are at stake, the combination of speed, accuracy, and clarity is paramount.
A recent survey of UK healthcare workers carried out by Pocketalk found that more than a fifth are facing language difficulties with colleagues and patients every week – 10% say this occurs daily. These challenges are costing each member of staff between six and twelve working days a year.
Almost half of healthcare workers disclosed that managing language translation with patients can present worrying safeguarding issues, with over a third of them turning to translation apps on personal mobile phones, at the risk of data security and compliance.
The need for more translation support in the UK healthcare system is urgent and well documented when considering the amount of money currently spent. Pocketalk is just part of the solution that works alongside other services such as human interpreters. Pocketalk addresses basic communication challenges such as asking for a glass of water, asking for directions or to go to the bathroom – times when other solutions are not available but where technology can quickly, easily, safely help, whilst also easing spend and improving the patient experience.
Recently, Pocketalk partnered with Living Well Partnership, a network of eight GP surgeries in Eastern Southampton, on a real-world validation study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to evaluate how technology can impact care delivery in primary care triage settings for patients who don’t speak English as a first language.
During the study, the device was used 100 times translating 18 different languages, with results highlighting that using Pocketalk resulted in more efficient communication or dialogue, saving time compared to using other translation services. There was increased patient privacy, without the need for a third party to attend and translate during appointments, while relationships between staff and patients were also strengthened. Pharmacists noted that Pocketalk helped improve customer service and workflow efficiency, allowing them to manage queues more effectively.
Pocketalk works with nearly a hundred primary and secondary healthcare partners in the UK and Ireland as well as the American Red Cross and Augusta Health in the United States.
