Before & After
- Interpreters had to be physically present
- Delays waiting for in-person interpreters
- High cost per interpretation session
- Language barriers causing medical errors
- Real-time interpretation via video
- Immediate connection with interpreters
- Lower cost per session
- Accurate communication across languages
The Challenge
Healthcare providers see patients who speak hundreds of different languages. Most hospitals can't staff interpreters for every language. In-person interpreters have to be scheduled. They have to travel. Sometimes they aren't available at all.
That's a problem when a patient shows up in an emergency. It's also a problem for routine telehealth visits where the patient and provider don't share a language. According to the American Journal of Public Health, language barriers contribute to higher rates of medical errors and longer hospital stays.
Cloudbreak Health wanted to solve this. They needed a platform where patients, providers, and interpreters could all connect in real time — audio and video — from anywhere. The system had to be reliable. It had to be fast. And it had to work inside a medical context, where communication accuracy is critical.
What We Built
We built a WebRTC-based application that connects three parties simultaneously — the patient, the healthcare provider, and a remote interpreter. All three can see and hear each other in real time. No phone calls. No delays.
Why WebRTC instead of a video conferencing tool?
Off-the-shelf video tools aren't built for the complexity of three-party medical interpretation. WebRTC let us build exactly what was needed — a custom session management system with role-based controls, audio routing, and a connection architecture designed for reliability in healthcare settings.
How do three people connect in one session?
We built a session broker that handles the WebRTC handshake for all three participants. When a provider requests an interpreter, the system finds an available interpreter for the right language and connects all three parties within seconds. Each participant has a separate audio and video stream. A provider can go from requesting an interpreter to being fully connected in under 30 seconds.
What made the audio routing complex?
In a normal video call, everyone hears everyone. Medical interpretation doesn't work that way. There are moments when the interpreter needs to speak to just the provider. Or just the patient. We built configurable audio routing so each session could be managed like a real interpretation — with natural turn-taking and control.
How does this work in an emergency?
Speed was the design constraint. The system was built to minimize latency — both in the connection setup and in the audio and video streams. Every second matters in a clinical encounter. We designed the connection flow to be as fast as technically possible, with no unnecessary steps between the provider's request and a live three-way session.
Results
Project Details
Frequently Asked Questions
What is WebRTC and why is it used for telehealth?
WebRTC is an open-source technology that enables real-time audio and video communication directly in a browser. It's used in telehealth because it doesn't require apps to download, works across devices, and is fast enough for live medical conversations.
How does medical interpretation work over video?
A patient, provider, and interpreter all connect to the same session. The interpreter listens to what is said and translates in real time — just like in-person interpretation, but delivered remotely via video.
What languages can a telehealth interpretation platform support?
The language support depends on interpreter availability, not the technology. The platform connects to interpreter networks that cover hundreds of languages. The technology is language-agnostic.
Is WebRTC secure enough for HIPAA-compliant healthcare?
Yes. WebRTC uses end-to-end encryption by default. Combined with proper server-side controls and access management, it can be deployed in HIPAA-compliant environments.
Ready to build something like this?
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