Accuracy is important in any field, but it's especially important in the medical sector. No one likes to look unprofessional, but when ...
Accuracy is important in any field, but it's especially important in the medical sector. No one likes to look unprofessional, but when something isn't right with your medical related information, it can have severe consequences.
Here are some of the reasons why a professional translator is so vital in this field.
Accuracy
A key place to start, accuracy is essential for healthcare translations. When trying to explain the intricate details of a medical condition to a patient, the practitioner must have the confidence to know that what they are saying is accurate.
Patients who receive incorrect information, no matter how subtle, might take a different approach to taking medication, assuming it is not as important as it might actually be. You need to make sure that your patient understands directions clearly. Opal translation is one company who have years of experience in translating for the medical sector. When accuracy is critical, so is a professional company.
Sensitivity
Given that the patient's condition might be serious, you need to make sure you are conveying information in the right tone. An inaccurate translation can lead to the practitioner sounding harsh when they don’t mean to. Some words can be inappropriate in certain cultures and languages so, at such a sensitive time, a measured approach is required. Professional translators use various employees meaning they have many native speakers that can help.
The Law
When it comes to confidentiality, healthcare sectors need to be compliant with certain laws. When requesting documents related to foreign patients, they might arrive in their native language. If this is the case, you want to be sure that you are not only translating it correctly, but also protecting information that is deemed as sensitive.
Subtle Differences
Abbreviations can be tricky, especially if they are in a foreign tongue. Even those in your native language can be difficult to understand. You can't always be sure of what the person who originally wrote the document meant. This is exaggerated even more with medical records. Because a lot can change even with one word, you want to be sure that what you have translated is right.
Mistakes happen more often than you think, with some patients getting the completely wrong
treatment or operation because of the way that one word was translated.
Cross-Checking
A lot of professional translators cross-check their translations with medical professionals if they have any doubts about the accuracy of the documents. As with any specialist profession, healthcare requires a certain level of expertise to translate. Self-translation just does not do it justice, even if you think you can cross check it yourself.
When someone’s health is reliant on the accuracy of your translated documents, you need to inspire trust. Using a professional company gives you and your patients the pace of mind that comes with knowing you went to the right lengths when searching for accuracy. Mistakes through translation can be eliminated, and when it comes to healthcare, they really need to be.
