What AI can’t translate: 'Vento' helps foreign patients navigate Korean healthcare

Even the familiar process of seeing a doctor and receiving a prescription can pose a major barrier for foreigners with limited Korean proficiency.

If patients fail to fully understand medical explanations or instructions on how to take their medication, they may delay treatment, miss follow-up visits or take their medicines incorrectly.

Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital trains volunteer medical interpreters known as Vento. From left are Vento volunteer Chen Li, social work team manager Park Sun-hwa and Vento volunteer Vuong Thi Thu Hang. (Courtesy of Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital)

Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital is working to lower these barriers by training volunteer medical interpreters known as “Vento.” The name combines “volunteer” and “mentor,” reflecting their role not only as interpreters but also as guides who help foreign patients navigate hospital visits.

Now in its 11th class, the Vento program traces its roots to a 2013 Seoul Metropolitan Government multicultural support initiative aimed at improving healthcare for migrant women. As part of the project, Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital began training volunteer medical interpreters in 2015.

Unlike interpretation services designed to attract overseas patients or promote medical tourism, Vento was created to help foreign residents in Korea overcome difficulties in accessing healthcare.

Given the hospital’s location in Daerim-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, an area with a large immigrant population, the program primarily provides free interpretation in languages widely spoken among migrant communities, including Chinese, Vietnamese and Mongolian.

Park Sun-hwa, a manager on the hospital’s social work team who has led the program, said communication problems had sometimes prevented foreign patients from properly managing their health.

“There were cases where doctors provided treatment and explanations, but patients did not fully understand them and either failed to return to the hospital or did not take their medication properly,” Park said in an interview with Korea Biomedical Review. “We concluded that communication problems were interfering with patients’ healthcare, so we began training volunteer medical interpreters.”

Chen Li and Vuong Thi Thu Hang are among the Vento volunteers. Chen provides Chinese interpretation, while Vuong handles Vietnamese. The two told KBR that their role often extends beyond translating conversations between patients and healthcare professionals.

Vuong Thi Thu Hang, a Vento volunteer who provides Vietnamese interpretation, talks about helping a Vietnamese international student undergo emergency surgery during an interview with Korea Biomedical Review. (Courtesy of Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital)

Medical professionals train Vento volunteers for hospital settings

About 10 people are selected for each Vento class and undergo classroom instruction, examinations and practical training before working in clinical settings. During practical training, experienced volunteers serve as mentors and accompany newcomers.

Professors from various medical departments, as well as nursing and administrative staff, participate in the training. Volunteers learn not only medical terminology but also the entire process patients go through at a hospital, including laboratory tests, payments and pharmacy visits.

Chen said training sessions led by medical professors were among the most memorable parts of the program.

“One of the reasons I applied in the first place was that I wanted to take classes related to medicine,” Chen said. “I was impressed that professors working in clinical settings explained things kindly and in detail at a level we could understand.”

Even for Chen, a native Chinese speaker, interpreting medical terminology can be challenging.

“Some Chinese medical terms are unfamiliar even to Chinese people,” she said. “During training, we learn how Korean and Chinese medical terms correspond to each other, and we constantly remind one another that Vento volunteers need to keep studying.”

Cultural differences can be harder than language

Language is not the only barrier foreign patients encounter. Differences in healthcare systems, testing and treatment practices and cultural attitudes toward medical care can also cause confusion.

Chen said some patients struggle to understand the sequence of registration, testing, consultation and receiving results in Korean hospitals.

Explaining cultural differences to medical staff is another part of Vento’s role.

Chen said that in some parts of China, there is a traditional belief that women who have recently given birth should avoid exposure to “wind.” Some mothers therefore refrain from washing themselves and wear thick clothing after delivery.

She recalled a woman who came to the hospital in the middle of summer wearing a padded coat and having not washed her hair for two to three weeks.

“I explained to the doctor why the mother was dressed that way, while telling the mother that cleanliness and hygiene are medically important,” Chen said.

Vuong said differences between the Korean and Vietnamese healthcare systems can create similar confusion. Vietnamese patients, for example, may be accustomed to accessing hospitals and tests with fewer appointment requirements than in Korea.

By explaining such differences to both patients and healthcare professionals, Vento volunteers can help prevent misunderstandings that go beyond language.

A bridge to emergency surgery

A recent case involving a Vietnamese international student who visited Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital’s emergency room illustrated how that role can affect care.

The student, who had been in Korea for only about a month, needed emergency surgery for acute appendicitis. With limited Korean proficiency and difficulty obtaining national health insurance coverage, however, the student struggled to find a hospital for treatment.

The student eventually learned that Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital offered Vietnamese medical interpretation and went there for care.

“The student was extremely frightened after suddenly being told that surgery was necessary,” Vuong recalled.

Vuong relayed the medical team’s explanations to the student and communicated the student’s condition and questions back to the medical staff. She also helped connect the student, who faced a substantial financial burden from treatment, with the hospital’s social work team and outside organizations that could provide assistance.

The student underwent emergency surgery and was discharged.

“I received the call just as I was about to finish work, but after hearing about the patient’s situation, I told them to come no matter what and helped out,” Vuong said. “I don’t know what might have happened if we hadn’t met that day.”

Chen Li, a Vento volunteer who provides Chinese interpretation, talks about providing emotional support as well as medical interpretation to a Chinese mother who gave birth prematurely. (Courtesy of Hallym University Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital)

‘That is something a machine cannot replace’

Advances in AI and translation applications have made basic communication easier. But Chen and Vuong said medical interpretation cannot be reduced to translating words from one language into another.

Chen recalled helping a Chinese woman who gave birth prematurely after experiencing problems throughout her pregnancy.

Chen saw the baby before the mother did. Unable to see her child, the worried mother repeatedly asked what the baby looked like.

“I couldn’t take a photo, so I comforted her by describing what the baby looked like,” Chen said. “That is something a machine cannot replace.”

Her assistance continued after the delivery. Because the baby did not yet have a foreign resident registration card, the family had to complete administrative procedures, including obtaining a passport, and Chen helped communicate the necessary information to the hospital.

“Even after the mother was discharged, she would sometimes come back to the hospital carrying her baby, and we would see each other,” Chen said.

Vento spreads through migrant communities

Awareness of the free service is spreading largely through migrant communities and word of mouth.

Vuong shares information about Vento through her social media accounts and Facebook groups popular among Vietnamese international students. She said the cost of hiring an interpreter can add another burden for foreign residents already facing medical expenses.

“Many people who want to go to a hospital have to find an interpreter separately, and interpretation can be expensive,” Vuong said. “When interpretation fees are added to medical expenses, the burden becomes even greater, so I introduce our hospital to people in that situation.”

Patients who have received help also refer others.

“Some new patients tell us they came because someone who had previously visited the hospital told them about Vento,” Chen said. “Sometimes patients I have helped return to the hospital with their friends.”

Can a volunteer model last?

The program’s reliance on volunteers and public funding, however, raises questions about its sustainability.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government currently funds Vento, with volunteers receiving 54,000 won ($39) for four hours of service.

“Because the program operates with funding from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, we worry about what would happen if that support were discontinued,” Park said. “Financial support is necessary so that Vento volunteers can continue their work.”

Park said volunteers also need counseling and continuing education to prevent burnout as they repeatedly encounter patients in difficult medical and emotional situations.

She hopes the model can eventually expand beyond Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital. Vento volunteers are already dispatched to some primary care clinics, with patients who need higher-level care referred to the hospital.

“Other hospitals are also likely to have many foreign patients,” Park said. “They could benchmark Kangnam Sacred Heart Hospital and expand their own volunteer medical interpretation programs.”

“Hospitals also need to develop their own training programs and establish systems for certifying experience or qualifications to enhance the credibility of medical interpretation work,” she added.