As today’s world becomes smaller thanks to technology and worldwide immigration, translation services are becoming increasingly necessary. The medical field is no exception, but it is easy to overlook the importance of properly conducted medical translations when dealing with all of the intricacies of medical care. Below are some things to keep in mind when considering medical translations.
Ease of Use
Medical devices can be tricky to learn how to use under the best of circumstances, but if the translation from the original instructions is not done well, it can lead to misunderstandings with potentially devastating results. Medical translation services go through a multi-step process to ensure that any instructions and labels are translated properly, allowing the medical staff the best opportunity to use them correctly, making their use safer for the staff and the patients. This is also especially important when considering pharmaceuticals. Professional, certified medical translations go through multiple levels of quality control to ensure that medication packaging is properly translated and easily understood to avoid confusion when dispensing or taking medication.
Proper record keeping
Communication with patients is of the utmost importance, sometimes with lives literally on the line. With questionnaires, patient information, and various other patient-reported paperwork being completed in multiple languages, the possibility of a misunderstanding grows and puts the patient’s well-being in potential danger. This is also important when conducting international clinical trials, as Patient Recorded Outcomes for clinical trials need to be easily understood so that every patient’s experiences can be properly reported. Medical translations can alleviate that worry, as the translations are run through proofreaders, editors, and native speakers to be sure that the translation is correct, so that every patient can receive the best care.
Medical Knowledge
Even in your native tongue, for someone who is not familiar with the medical terminology, a report or document filled with medical jargon may as well be in another language. It is important for businesses in the medical field to use medical translations, as opposed to a normal translator, because the terminology used can be difficult or impossible to translate for someone who has no training in the medical field. When a mistaken translation between ‘hypertrophic’ and ‘hypotrophic’ can have deadly results, getting your medical translations from someone with knowledge in the medical field is essential. Medical translations are conducted by translators with specific training in the medical field, and are edited and proofread to be sure that the tone and terminology are correct in the final product.
Regulatory Laws
Most countries, including the United States, Japan, and the European Union, have strict laws in place regarding medical practices, so it is important for medical translations to be knowledgeable in these regulations. Documentation, especially for things such as clinical trials or pharmaceuticals, must fall perfectly in line with each country’s regulations, and medical translations can help you achieve that. Most medical translation companies are either certified or compliant in one or more of several international quality standard systems to help ensure that quality standards are met.
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