What You need to Translate a Medical Document Accurately
Languages are complex, and English is no different. When dealing with a medical patient that doesn’t speak the language, often a translator would be needed. Communication in terms of physical health is vitally important, as you don’t want a patient to get false information that could negatively affect their health.
The field of medical translation is very specialized as it requires a person to be bilingual and well versed in medical terminology. Read on to find out what you need to accurately translate a medical document for a non-English speaking patient.
Subject Matter Experts
Any ordinary translator would be able to relay the information to a patient, but if they don’t have the proper medical background some key information may be missed or incorrectly interpreted. A patient may not understand the severity of their condition or believe their health is not as bad if the translator doesn’t know what specific medical terms mean.
Medical translators often have practical experience in hospital settings and are the most suitable candidates for the job. This is just one of the many important considerations when translating medical documents.
Qualified Practitioner
Medical documents have sensitive information about patients, and it’s the doctor’s responsibility to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for the patient. When translating a medical document, it’s critical to employ a certified and qualified medical professional, who understands confidentiality and has taken the Hippocratic oath.
It can be expensive to employ a good translator, but when it comes to the interpretation of medical information, you need to have the best. It lowers the risk of personal information being made public and ensures that the correct jargon is used.
Choose ISO 9001 Providers
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 is a health and safety management system that many large industrial and medical businesses rely on. To have an ISO 9001 certified health and safety management system means that quality healthcare is being provided with strict regulations in place.
ISO 9000 is the leading health and safety management organization and hospitals that maintain annual certification will have experienced medical translators available.
Legal Assistance
Patients who are unable to afford fancy lawyers are still protected under the Civil Rights Act, Section 1557, where no person can be discriminated against if they can’t afford a translator. The act also states that all medical translators be qualified doctors. This means that a Spanish-speaking nurse isn’t legally allowed to translate a medical document, as they don’t possess a Ph.D.
Due to the complex language and medical eponyms used in medicine, certain terms and phrases can’t be directly translated into another language. Other terms may even have a completely different meaning in the patient’s language.
Translating a medical document properly so that a patient fully understands their blood reports, scans, and medicine regimen is vital. If a patient doesn’t understand how to take their medicine, or if they are not aware that a condition has been diagnosed, there will be negative consequences to their health. Medical translators are compulsory for all hospitals and they should have a professional with sufficient experience in the medical field to accurately interpret medical documents.
