Environment and Appearance

Since Jeenie calls are most often Video calls, it is important for the customer to see you clearly. Business casual clothing must be worn when you are logging in to interpret with Jeenie. Some additional guidelines on the professional environment and appearance are below: 

• Distance: Place your camera at the proper distance from you, so the customer can see your entire head and shoulders. For ASL calls, you will need to be further away, so the customer can see your torso properly as well. 
  • The camera should be on a stable surface. If you are using your mobile device, it should be stationary and not in your hand.
• Lighting: Avoid strong light (e.g., window) from behind you. Rather, make sure any light is in front of you, so your face is well lit.
• Environment: Make sure your background is uncluttered and neat and there are no visual or auditory distractions behind or around you (e.g., television, pets, alarms, other people). Please remember your environment needs to be private and secure to assure full confidentiality of the calls.
  • This includes avoiding doing things such as household chores, preparing food, eating, walking around, or doing anything that is not related to your call. As a professional interpreter we expect you to be fully focused on the call to assure maximum accuracy, completeness and high quality of interpretation overall as outlined in the NCIHC National Standards of Practice for Interpreters.

IMPORTANT: Calls from a car are not acceptable. 

• Appearance: Regardless of the originally requested call type (video or audio), clients may switch to video at any time.  You must be camera-ready at all times before you accept the call. 
  • This includes making sure you are wearing a business casual shirt, your hair (including facial hair) is groomed, any head or face coverings are free from offensive language, and your environment meets the criteria listed above. 
  • For ASL interpreters, your clothing should be solid-colored (no patterns) and contrast well with your skin tone, so the customer can clearly see your hands against your body.
• Additional Information: Please refer to our Additional Recommendations for Interpreters page for more information.

How can I ensure a HIPAA-compliant environment when I interpret using the Jeenie platform?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is very strict regarding the importance of safeguarding private health information. This is also very important to our customers so we must always make it a top priority. 

To take calls with Jeenie, you must be able to guarantee that PHI, or personal health information, is protected. When we work, we must do it from a private area. This means that:

• When you are active on the platform you are the only person in the room. 
• The room has a door that can be closed, and, if necessary, locked. 
• Other people do not come into the room while you are taking calls, even if they stay outside of the camera frame. Even brief entrances, such as to retrieve a belonging, are not permissible during calls. 

Accepting calls from a public space or the car is considered a serious HIPAA violation because it means exposing private details about a person to others. When we interpret, we never know in advance what information will be shared, so it is never safe to take a call from an area that is not HIPAA compliant.