Medical translations are widely used across global healthcare, from sharing outcomes of clinical trials and diagnostic testing to communicating medication and drug applications and dosages, translating patient medical records and histories and providing clinical papers and journals produced in another language.
Regardless of the purpose of the translation, accuracy is paramount. Mistakes in the medical field can be extremely risky and even result in preventable fatalities in the most extreme scenarios. However, the importance of sharing knowledge and research remains equally important.
Absolute Translations, an accomplished team of translators who offer technical and medical translation services in over 200 languages, provides advice about sourcing the best-quality translator for your medical translation projects.
Essential Skills a Medical Translator Should Possess
While a talented medical translator may not be expected to hold a current practitioner's licence, just as a surgeon would not be expected to possess first-language linguistics in another language, they must have a degree of expertise to provide highly accurate translations.
Technical translation requires a knowledge and understanding of terminology, abbreviations, context and jargon, ensuring that a completed translation carries the exact same meaning. Some medical translators may have studied within a healthcare field or undergone specific training or study to grasp the nuance of medical language, but all should have a baseline level of expertise.
The role of any translator you select is to replicate the same tone and content, even where one language may have a very different way of phrasing a sentence or paragraph. A competent translator with a strong portfolio and proven body of work will appreciate what the content intends to say and configure the most appropriate alternative phraseology in their client’s target language.
It's worth pausing here to clarify that automated or AI-based translations are entirely inappropriate for medical translation. Areas like command of syntax, a grasp of what abbreviations mean, and a thorough knowledge of terminology are fundamental requirements to ensure the completed work is correct and high-quality.
Choosing a Professional Medical Translator
Great translators can work on projects both large and small and often begin with a consultation to discuss the scope of the translation project and what the content will be used for. This aspect is important because it will influence the tone of the translation and the selection of specific phrases or words to ensure they are understandable and accessible to the target audience.
For example, the approach a translator uses for a medical translation will vary if they are working on:
- Translations of a client’s medical records before they travel abroad to seek treatment or relocate to another country. These records need to be relevant and clear to professionals and practitioners, even if some of the text may seem confusing to the individual.
- Projects involving patient instruction documentation, such as safety leaflets for medical devices or guidance for medications being produced overseas. This content must make sense to a non-medical reader, so using more straightforward language will remove the risk of misinterpretation.
- Content intended for use by both clinicians and the general public. Examples include medical reports or monitoring information about a person's condition. Although the language in the documentation must be 100% accurate for medical usage, it may also need references, summaries or explanations to ensure the intended user understands the main points.
We'd always recommend you pick a translator with sufficient experience in medical translation and prior projects involving similar types of content and for comparable audiences.
Time Pressures in Translations for the Medical Sector
Although there is never any compromise on quality in medical translations, we often work with clients managing finite deadlines. Our above example of a patient translating medical records before seeking treatment abroad is a great case study – they may require their translation by an exact date or risk disruption to their planned care or procedure.
Consistency and reliability are essential themes in a professional translation team, whereby translators, quality controllers and translation coordinators work together to identify deliverables, project outlines and completion dates to ensure these align with the client's requirements.
Established translators focus on fluid communications and can commit to shorter turnaround times where necessary, often implementing rapid return quality assessment procedures to eliminate the possibility of error, but work as a cohesive team where time constraints are pivotal.
Medical Translation and Data Security
Another aspect of medical translation is confidentiality. Regardless of the nature of the content, it will almost always contain sensitive, private or restricted-access information, potentially about the subjects involved in a clinical trial or personal medical details, which should never be treated as public information.
Translators with robust safeguards to prevent data breaches and guarantee translated materials will be managed with a keen focus on security are ideal. Clients should be asked to provide express permission for anybody outside their appointed translator and relevant colleagues to see or access any information included in the original and translated content.
With the professional standing and qualifications required to certify the accuracy of their translation work, certified translators can guarantee confidentiality using advanced software and protocols. These might include access-controlled data storage facilities, password-protected communications and digital security strategies, which remove the potential for archived translations to be reached.
We advise asking your translator how they manage data protection and security to ensure you are confident their approach is sufficient before work begins.
Freelance vs Agency Translators for Medical Texts
Healthcare and medicine is one area of translation where there is no room for error. Confidential, technical and specialised content must be translated by a native speaker with appropriate knowledge of the medical world to provide flawless translations, often accompanied by a statement of certification.
There are hundreds of independent translators out there. Still, we strongly recommend hiring a translator from an established firm with formal quality accreditation standards and regulatory oversight for projects with this level of importance.
Translation teams comprise a network of skilled translators, quality assessors and resources, all essential components to deliver a service of the exacting specificity and precision you require to proceed with a medical translation project with confidence.
For more information about any of the points raised here, please get in touch with the Absolute Translations translation services UK team at your convenience, or discover more about our medical translation services online.
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About Absolute Translations
Absolute Translations understands the importance of quality and reliability and this comes at the forefront of our translation services. Our many years of experience have made it possible for us to work with some of the most talented professional translators as well as leading global brands around the world in more than 200 languages, with business translation services from our London, UK and European offices.
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Source Company: https://www.absolutetranslations.com/
