In healthcare things simply cannot get lost in translation. While the world is getting smaller, the amount of regulations which control the field increases, as caused by the crucial importance of high-quality delivery in medical and pharmaceutical translations. What are the five main reasons why an increased number of key players in the industry entrust specialized language service providers to deliver for them within the area of healthcare translations?

Impact on Human Life

Starting with perhaps the most obvious, and also the most paramount reason of all: a bad medical translation can be life-threatening. The importance of a high-quality, error-free translation in healthcare is enormous. Generally, within the world of translation, the smallest mistake can change the entire meaning of the content. In the case of medical translations, those mistakes can have catastrophic consequences. Whether it concerns a patient’s records, flyers, research or commercial use – the outcome needs to be flawless in every single instance. Wrong details or omissions of such information as allergies, dosage or medical history can have a disastrous impact on human life, which alone should highlight the value of specialized translations.

Regulations Requirement

The medical translation principles vary around the world; however, they are, more often than not, highly regulated. That includes not only translations for when entering a new foreign market but also when providing care for foreign language minorities.

Both in the US and in the EU the law sets certain standards for the quality and availability of the information in various languages. In fact, equal access to medical information regardless of a patient’s native language has been a requirement set by the US Federal Law since an Executive Order in 2000.

Any US company interested in entering the European market must be further aware of the EU laws stating that a product must be translated into the official language of the country in order to be legally sold there. Those rules create a need for professional medical translations, so that patient information sheets, marketing materials and forms for clinical trials are up to standards and available in the local language of the target group.

Terminology

Healthcare jargon is so extensive it can often prove to be problematic, even to those highly invested in the field, and only doing so within one language domain. Many translators who aren’t specialized within medical translations simply aren’t familiar with the terminology of the industry. The particular vocabulary of the medical field makes it crucial for pharmaceutical and medical companies to invest in professional linguists who concentrate on healthcare translations. Furthermore, the fact that medical translations are some of the most strictly regulated services within the translation industry only enhances the need for a translator who is fully certified for the task at hand.

Authorization and Prosecution

In healthcare, mistakes can impact a life. Omissions are unacceptable, documentation must be complete and full information must be made available. Even when caused by a poor translation, those mistakes can lead to prosecution. Those unnecessary costs and concerns can be avoided or minimized by trusting a certified language service provider specialized in the medical field.

Research

Healthcare translations extend beyond patient records or pharmaceutical content. For many companies, the heart and soul of their development lies within the field of research. The globalization of science has never been quite as extensive as in today’s world of virtualization. A high-quality, detailed translation is also required when dealing with the world of scientific medical research. Failure in accurate translation of a study can have harmful or even fatal results on the examination’s outcomes, which in turn leads to financial damages and lost opportunities.

Your Choice

When choosing a language service provider make sure to go with one that is certified and an expert within all the areas of your concern. Argos Multilingual is a certified translation company and holds several valuable certificates, specifically ISO 9001 and EN ISO 13485 for those interested in high-quality medical translations. More information about Argos’ Healthcare Translation Services and Life Sciences Translation Services can be found here.