This real-world example underscores the critical need for accurate medical translations. But beyond the immediate risks to patients, what are the hidden costs of mistranslations in healthcare? 

The Domino Effect of Translation Errors in Healthcare 

Medical mistranslations don’t just affect individual patients—they create ripple effects throughout the entire healthcare system. Below are some of the most significant repercussions: 

• Financial costs. Errors in medical translations can lead to costly lawsuits, regulatory fines, and expensive product recalls. Pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers may face significant financial losses when incorrect translations lead to patient harm, mislabeling of medications, or failure to meet regulatory requirements. 

• Patient safety risks. A mistranslation can mean the difference between life and death. Patients receiving incorrect dosage instructions, misunderstanding treatment protocols, or failing to recognize critical warnings can suffer severe health consequences. For example, misinterpretations of allergy information or medication instructions can lead to life-threatening reactions. 

• Reputation damage. Healthcare organizations and pharmaceutical companies rely on trust. A single high-profile mistranslation can undermine credibility and damage relationships with patients and regulatory bodies.  

• Operational disruptions. Translation errors can delay regulatory approvals and market entry for new drugs and medical devices. For global healthcare companies, these disruptions can translate to millions of dollars in lost revenue and prolonged patient wait times for life-saving treatments. 

Steps to Safeguard Quality 

To prevent these costly and dangerous mistakes, healthcare organizations must prioritize best practices when selecting linguists and Language Service Providers (LSPs). 

• Cultural and regional expertise. Medical language is deeply tied to cultural and regional contexts. Effective translations must go beyond literal accuracy, ensuring that phrasing aligns with local dialects, cultural sensitivities, and patient comprehension levels. 

• Regulatory knowledge. Different countries enforce distinct medical regulations, such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the U.S. or European Medicines Agency (EMA) guidelines in Europe. Healthcare organizations must partner with translation providers who understand these regulatory landscapes to ensure compliance and avoid legal risks. 

• Advanced technological tools. Leading LSPs use Translation Management Systems (TMS) and other AI-driven solutions to enhance consistency, streamline workflows, and reduce turnaround times while maintaining quality. These tools help mitigate human error and improve efficiency in medical translation processes. 

The Importance of Partnering with Language Experts 

The complexity of medical translation necessitates working with certified professionals who specialize in healthcare terminology, cultural nuances, and regulatory compliance. Certified medical translators possess a deep understanding of medical language, ensuring clarity and accuracy in patient instructions, pharmaceutical labeling, and regulatory documentation. Partnering with these experts significantly reduces the risk of translation errors, safeguarding both patients and healthcare providers from legal and medical consequences.  

Conclusion 

The consequences of poor medical translations extend far beyond simple misunderstandings—they can endanger lives, cause financial setbacks, and erode trust in healthcare institutions. To mitigate these risks, healthcare organizations must prioritize accuracy by partnering with certified language experts who understand the intricacies of medical terminology, cultural considerations, and regulatory requirements. Investing in high-quality medical translations is not just a regulatory necessity—it’s a moral and financial imperative. 

By committing to linguistic excellence, healthcare providers can protect patient safety, minimize risks, and strengthen their reputation in an increasingly globalized world. 

The post The Unseen Consequences of Poor Medical Translations appeared first on Terra Translations.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) are the three foundational pillars of a sustainability-focused strategy. In this context: 

1. Environmental focuses on reducing ecological impacts and sustainability, such as lowering CO2 emissions and conserving resources. 

2. Social considers issues like working conditions, human rights, and inclusivity. 

3. Governance emphasizes transparency, ethical business practices, and responsible management. 

An ESG strategy provides a structured approach to guide companies toward meaningful sustainability goals by aligning their operations with these pillars, which contribute to both industry progress and environmental responsibility. 

How the Pharmaceutical Industry is Driving Change

Pharmaceutical companies are embracing innovative ESG strategies to reduce their environmental footprint and promote social equity. Here are some ways they’re achieving significant goals: 

• Novo Nordisk is working toward zero environmental impact by building sustainable healthcare systems through partnerships with governments, NGOs, businesses, and communities. Their focus on “Access & Affordability” underscores the importance of healthcare that is both sustainable and accessible. 

• GSK is committed to environmental goals in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative and the Paris Agreement. They’re reducing greenhouse gas emissions and setting a new standard for how pharmaceutical companies address climate challenges. 

• Pfizer is taking action to reduce operational waste, conserve resources, and prioritize environmental sustainability as a means of mitigating climate risks. They aim for net-zero emissions, recognizing the direct link between climate change and human health. 

• Johnson & Johnson is pushing for renewable energy across their operations. Their commitment includes creating sustainable products and promoting environmental health equity. 

• Haleon has integrated a sustainability impact assessment tool into all innovation projects. Their transparent reporting, including a website carbon indicator, highlights their dedication to responsible environmental stewardship. 

These companies set an example, not only for others in the pharmaceutical industry but for their entire supply chain, encouraging all stakeholders to prioritize sustainability. 

Towards a Greener Tomorrow

The dedication of these pharmaceutical leaders is setting a strong precedent, fostering a ripple effect that reaches their partners and suppliers. At Terra, we’re committed to supporting this transformative journey by implementing our own sustainable initiatives every year. Together with our partners, we aim to champion a greener, more responsible industry. 

Conclusion

As sustainability becomes increasingly critical, we’re confident that more pharmaceutical companies will follow suit. This ongoing commitment to innovation and environmental responsibility will benefit our planet and future generations. It’s a journey that requires continuous improvement and collective effort, and we encourage all industries to embrace the challenge. 

The post The Three Pillars of Sustainability: How the Pharma Industry Leads the Charge appeared first on Terra Translations.

Industry Focus 

In the healthcare field, translation aims to improve communication between healthcare providers and patients. Since much of the content is patient-facing, it must be easy for individuals from various linguistic and cultural backgrounds to understand. Healthcare translation includes materials like patient handbooks, public health brochures, and hospital signage—all of which must be clear and accessible to support comprehension and foster trust. This type of translation directly impacts patient outcomes, as even small misunderstandings could lead to adverse health effects. 

Pharmaceutical translations, however, are focused on supporting drug development and regulatory compliance. This content is primarily intended for professionals—such as doctors, researchers, and regulators—requiring highly specialized scientific language. Here, accuracy is paramount to maintain the integrity of drug formulations, clinical studies, and research documentation. Any errors could have significant consequences, such as regulatory rejections or potential legal issues, making precision a top priority. When it comes to marketing campaigns and more creative content, the target audience is usually patients, and therefore the translation must be crafted with this in mind. 

Terminological Accuracy vs. Cultural Adaptation 

In healthcare translation, cultural adaptation is essential. Translators must consider local beliefs, healthcare practices, and cultural nuances to make information resonate with diverse patients. This adaptation is particularly important to build trust and ensure patient comprehension, as an overly literal translation could confuse or mislead patients and impact their health and quality of life. 

While cultural adaptation is often used in marketing content, pharmaceutical translation prioritizes terminological accuracy. This is critical for preserving the meaning of highly technical documents, such as dosage instructions and clinical trial results. Pharmaceutical translators must adhere strictly to scientific terminology, as even a minor error could compromise drug safety or lead to regulatory complications. In this context, precision in language is essential to protect product integrity and patient outcomes. 

Types of Content for Translation 

Healthcare translation typically covers accessible documents like patient handbooks, public health brochures, and informational signage. These materials must use clear, straightforward language to ensure they are easily understood by a wide audience, including those without medical knowledge. Translators must consider simplicity and clarity above all to ensure that patients understand crucial health information. 

Pharmaceutical translation involves highly specialized content, including clinical study reports, regulatory submissions, and product leaflets. Translators must have expertise in both medical and regulatory language to meet the stringent standards required by regulatory authorities across different countries. Inaccuracies in this type of translation could not only pose legal risks, but also jeopardize patient safety on a global scale. 

Global Impact 

Localization is particularly important in healthcare, where hospitals and clinics often serve multilingual populations. By translating healthcare materials into multiple languages, providers can offer more inclusive care. 

Pharmaceuticals, generally, operate on a global scale. Medications are often produced in one region and distributed worldwide, making consistent, accurate translation essential. Translating instructions, safety guidelines, and disclaimers effectively across regions ensures that the global public has access to safe and reliable products. 

The Takeaway 

While healthcare and pharmaceutical translation serve distinct roles, both are crucial in enhancing health and safety globally. Healthcare translations prioritize cultural relevance and clarity, while pharmaceutical translations emphasize terminological accuracy and compliance. Collaborating with professional translators helps enhance both sectors by ensuring critical information crosses linguistic barriers effectively.

The post Healthcare vs. Pharmaceutical Translation: Understanding Key Differences appeared first on Terra Translations.

What to consider when choosing your HIPAA-compliant translation partner 

We know how challenging it can be to find a HIPAA-compliant partner. To make this decision easier, we compiled a list of things to consider. 

Expertise and experience 

When selecting a HIPAA translation service provider for your ePHI projects, it’s important to choose a vendor with a reliable reputation in translation and a thorough understanding of the medical field. Since documents containing ePHI can have different intended targets (patients, medical staff, etc.), having the ability to navigate language subtleties is crucial. If you aren’t acquainted with their job, it’s always a good idea to ask about previous related projects or even case studies. You can also check if they are ISO-certified, as this certification illustrates a commitment to quality. 

Training and education 

It’s crucial to evaluate whether they have customized policies, procedures, and training programs tailored to ensure HIPAA compliance. Assess if they regularly conduct training sessions for employees at all levels, covering essential aspects such as data security, patient privacy, and the proper handling of ePHI. A comprehensive approach will demonstrate their commitment to maintaining compliance standards and safeguarding sensitive healthcare data. 

A committed team 

Having qualified people in charge of the translation project is important, but having a team that truly understands what the stakes are and has compliance top of mind when making decisions can make all the difference. A culture of compliance is not easy to cultivate, but a company that promotes it greatly reduces the risks of sensitive information falling into the wrong hands. 

Security measures 

It’s a good practice to inquire about the strength of an organization’s cybersecurity measures, which should include encryption, access controls, and detection systems to protect ePHI against hacking. These measures can give you an idea of their proactive approach toward mitigating risks and improving defenses against cybersecurity threats. 

Technology 

The right technology is essential to help mitigate the potential risks associated with ePHI, storing platforms, and translation tools that are vital during the process. Your translation partner should be proactive in adopting new and better technologies. 

Legal and regulatory knowledge 

Double check that your potential partner has a solid team in place that stays up to date with the latest healthcare law and HIPAA regulations. Their Privacy and Security Officers play a huge role in ensuring that your organization receives accurate and current guidance, which reduces the risk of incompliance in every aspect of your workflow. 

The takeaway 

You need a meticulous evaluation process when selecting a HIPAA-compliant language services provider. Organizations should prioritize partners that demonstrate a robust commitment to safeguarding their hardware and software, consistently conducting thorough risk assessments. By aligning with such partners, you can rest easy knowing they will tackle the project with the precision and discretion demanded in this industry and that the integrity of healthcare data is assured. 

The post How to Find the Right HIPAA-Compliant Translation Partner appeared first on Terra Translations.

What a HIPAA Privacy Officer Does 

Matías Giannoni, Ph.D., works as a HIPAA Privacy Officer at Terra to ensure that everyone involved in handling ePHI knows the rules, regulations and policies really well and, more importantly, if in doubt, that they feel confident reaching out to him before taking any step or action that might be in violation of the rules or, worse, compromising information. “So, it is not just a matter of ticking a few boxes but being tangentially involved in operations to make sure all processes are compliant and secure,” Giannoni explained. 

The key responsibilities of working as a HIPAA Privacy Officer include: 

• Making sure all the processes internally are compliant and everyone knows exactly what they have to do in order to minimize risks to almost zero 
• Overseeing the annual training of team members handling ePHI to keep up to date with the latest developments 
• Assessing new technologies to optimize our operations while remaining in compliance 
• Acting as a liaison to the IT Department and prioritizing cybersecurity by taking all the steps to be at the cutting edge of information security technologies  
• Being the first point of contact in case of any breach and the one in charge of communicating any situation with external stakeholders 

Working with Total HIPAA 

While Giannoni has strong experience working in heavily regulated environments with obscure and sometimes confusing regulations, Terra also relies on an external organization for additional consulting and guidance. When it comes to collaborating with Total HIPAA, Giannoni shared that they have been key partners in organizing our processes, conducting a thorough internal audit, and training our team. There are many things in which their expertise has proven to be invaluable. “Sometimes a certain technology is compliant with regulations, but it can be improved with a more advanced technology as regulations sometimes are defined with reference to technologies that existed at the point a certain legislation was put in place, and Total HIPAA advises us on those points where we can do even better than the minimum standards.” 

The Most Important Aspect of Protecting Patient Privacy 

The human aspect, both in terms of where the main failures can come from as well as in terms of the consequences cannot be overlooked. “When I think about this task, I am not thinking about potential fines or breaches of contract. Having access to all this sensible information, I am constantly obsessed about the fact that I would never like to see such sensitive information out in the open or in the hands of a heartless ransomware hacker,” Giannoni said, “That thought keeps me constantly alert.” 

To make sure that all staff members handling ePHI are trained on HIPAA policies and procedures, they receive Total HIPAA’s thorough training and evaluation annually. According to Giannoni, all of our team members scored high in their training and demonstrated a very strong culture of compliance. “Nevertheless, I often test their knowledge in our operational meetings to make sure they remember it correctly,” he shared.  

The Takeaway 

In safeguarding ePHI, the role of a HIPAA Privacy Officer stands as a crucial pillar in ensuring compliance and fortifying the security of patient data during translation processes. All patients deserve privacy while navigating medical care, which is why at Terra, we go to great lengths to remain compliant.  

The post Protecting ePHI in Translation: The Role of a HIPAA Privacy Officer   appeared first on Terra Translations.

At Terra, we’re strongly committed to the protection of the data that our clients entrust us to translate. To help us achieve our privacy goals, we partner with Total HIPAA and continuously take steps in the various aspects that pertain to our business operations. This helps us ensure that our processes are always compliant with HIPAA’s Security and Privacy Rules. Let’s take a closer look at the three layers of our defense system.  

Layer # 1: IT Infrastructure 

Our IT Department understands cybersecurity is crucial to protect ePHI and considers it a top priority. Because of this, this department takes the following actions to ensure adequate protection of this information: 

Device protection  

All devices owned by Terra are administered and monitored through Microsoft Azure tools, which include observing for potential threats as well as tracking local user activity. Additionally, all of our connections are SSL (Security Socket Layer) encrypted and we are currently working on expanding our corporate VPN to all users for additional security. As a bonus, any activity logs generated by these tools can be analyzed on demand.  

Software and hardware monitoring 

We continuously monitor both software and hardware through Microsoft Intune, as well as the configuration and subsequent deployment of proprietary security policies. In order to provide maximum security to our clients, Terra hosts all information on our own secure on-premises server in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This ensures that the information stays within our secure environments, enabling us to have more control over the management of information. 

Security 

To help enhance security, Terra utilizes Microsoft Defender for Endpoint to ensure security through MFA for all Active Directory users. Our team also has limited access to protected health information. They can only view what is necessary and individual access to ePHI is constantly logged. Additionally, all our devices containing protected health information are encrypted and have strong password protection. We frequently update these passwords to maintain their strength.  

When it comes to our internal and external communication, as well as the sharing and management of files, knowledge bases, and content in general, we use Office 365 Suite for seamless collaboration across the organization.  

Layer # 2: Our Team 

Just as crucial as the IT infrastructure, having a team of people behind it who know how to use the tools is as important—if not more. Here’s how we make sure our team has the tools, resources and knowledge to remain compliant: 

All team members with access to protected health information, from leaders to project managers, are trained on the HIPAA compliant procedures and processes in place so they can handle ePHI securely from initial reception to final client delivery. This includes HIPAA concepts, standards, and security and privacy measures. Every member that passes all the courses also receives an official certification from Total HIPAA and is required to sign a confidentiality agreement that protects patient privacy. We promote and encourage a culture of compliance. Because of this, every year, our team participates in additional training.  

Documents that contain ePHI and require translation services are carefully assigned to linguists who are both experts in the healthcare field and are also trained in HIPAA compliance. To evaluate their knowledge, we created an internal test that they must pass to demonstrate their ability to properly handle the documents with the utmost care. These linguists are not able to download the ePHI to their own devices and always work within secure environments. 

Layer # 3: Our Privacy Officer 

Having the right team in place makes all the difference. Our Privacy Officer, Matías Giannoni, oversees the development, implementation, maintenance and adherence to the procedure regarding the safe handling of ePHI in compliance with HIPAA regulations. Matías acts as a liaison to the IT Department to ensure privacy and security practices are implemented. He guides the training of our team, addresses any concerns individuals may have, and promptly analyzes if actions should be taken.  

A Commitment to Risk Assessment, Mitigation and Continuous Improvement  

Maintaining confidentiality, document control, and client trust are vital to Terra. This commitment is illustrated by the entire Terra team executing risk assessments on a yearly basis under the most stringent guidelines and practices to preserve the security of all private information entrusted to us.  

Our journey towards maintaining privacy is always evolving as HIPAA regulations are subject to change. As a result, we continuously improve our policies and procedures to stay up to date. 

The post Building a Digital Fortress for ePHI: A Three-Layer Defense System appeared first on Terra Translations.

Why Language Access Matters

Language barriers can become even harder to break through once you begin to involve complex scientific and medical terms. This lack of understanding can lead to devastating results. During the coronavirus pandemic, researchers found that communities with high populations of non-English speakers had more cases of COVID-19 than English-speaking communities and, as a result, higher amounts of COVID-19-related deaths. Coronavirus incidence rates were as much as 14.3% greater in communities with high populations of non-English speakers. Some experts worry that this is because of language barriers that make it hard to understand the public service announcements that share essential public health guidelines surrounding social distancing, masks, and other strategies for avoiding contracting the virus. 

A Disservice to Vaccine Distribution

In order to properly, and safely, distribute vaccines, the proper distribution of information is necessary. Language barriers can discourage consumers from feeling comfortable getting a vaccine and understanding what the risks are, as well as how to get one if they do want one. 

Language barriers are leading to low vaccination levels for Hispanics in North Carolina. Even though Hispanics make up 10% of North Carolina’s population, only about 2.5% of all coronavirus vaccines administered in the state have gone to Hispanic recipients. Enrolling to receive a vaccine online may be causing problems for non-English speakers who can’t understand the website and the enrollment process. Even though many health departments offer phone assistance in Spanish, a lack of staffing can lead to long wait times and a lack of assistance. A properly translated website could easily increase access to vaccines for the Hispanic community in North Carolina. 

How Human Translation Can Help

When it comes to translating medical information around complex topics like vaccines and their distribution, there seems to be some confusion as to why unsupervised machine translation tools cannot get the job done. As advanced as that technology is becoming, terms and phrases that are more nuanced often end up literally getting lost in translation. For example, recent mistranslation-related events in Virginia caused mass confusion. After utilizing Google to generate a translation of the Virginia Department of Health’s website, their Spanish readers were under the impression that the COVID-19 vaccine was “not necessary.” Why? Because the website showed a translation of “the vaccine is not required” as “la vacuna no es necesaria”, which in Spanish means “the vaccine is not necessary.” 

It’s easy to see how this faulty translation caused misunderstandings that can have a life or death impact. Working with a human translator can help avoid any misunderstandings caused by syntax choices. Translators not only take word choice into account, but cultural and historical influences that can impact how a translated work is perceived.

The post The Importance of Language Access Surrounding Vaccine Distribution appeared first on Terra Translations.

The role of a SBC is to ensure that consumers are aware of the health benefits and coverage available to them through their healthcare plan. In fact, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) typically requires that any group of health plans or health insurance companies provide a summary of benefits and coverage that can accurately describe the benefits and coverage available under the plan. While that definition will give you a quick glimpse at why SBCs are so important, let’s dive a bit deeper into this complicated topic and how medical translation comes into play.

What is an SBC?

Alongside helping consumers understand their health plan’s features and offerings, an SBC also covers the costs associated with the plan. An SBC can cover very complicated topics, such as cost-sharing rules or limits and exceptions to coverage, in a way that is easy for the average consumer to understand. One way that a health insurance or plan company can do this is by providing consumers with a “Uniform Glossary” designed to clearly explain any medical or insurance-related terms that may apply to a plan. Not only are all plans required by the ACA to provide a SBC to their consumers, but they must follow a uniform template that is customized to reflect the terms of a specific plan. 

Why do SBCs matter? 

It is of the utmost importance that consumers have access to an SBC. Not only does this access help them understand their plan features and the costs associated with it once they’re enrolled, but they can use the SBC to answer some of their general questions regarding a health plan before they choose to enroll in it. This knowledge helps consumers make informed decisions about their health and finances. 

Why does an SBC need to be translated into other languages?

Because we live in an increasingly global world, health plans and insurance providers must keep diversity in mind. A minimum of 350 languages are spoken in homes throughout the United States. While providing SBCs in each of those languages wouldn’t be possible or even necessary as many of these languages are spoken by bilingual citizens, compliance regulations dictate which languages providers must accommodate. Vital plan information must be available in the 15 non-English languages most commonly spoken in a state or languages spoken by at least 10 percent of a county’s population. The ACA, and other related statutes and regulations, currently have strict language requirements. For example, qualified health plan insurers that have been registered for at least one year are required to provide oral and written translation services to consumers in a minimum of 150 languages.

It is important to remember that the translation of the Summary of Benefits and Coverage is not just a matter of compliance, but of inclusion. Providing resources for a growing and diverse population should always be a priority.

The post Translation of Summary of Benefits and Coverage 101 appeared first on Terra Translations.

What is a medical insurance claim form? 

Medical insurance claim forms are necessary when a patient needs to request reimbursement or direct payment for any medical services they’ve obtained. Basically, they are of the utmost importance for making sure medical service providers get paid. In order for these payments to come from insurance companies, either the patient or the provider must submit the proper medical insurance claims. There are two options for submitting a medical insurance claim. The first option is generally the most convenient. The medical services provider will directly submit the claim for the patient to the insurance company electronically. Another option is for patients to personally fill out a health insurance claim form and send in the paperwork. Most insurance companies offer electronic forms that patients can download and submit online. This process more commonly occurs if the health service provider is not in a patient’s health insurance network and therefore can’t file a claim on their behalf. 

What information does it contain?

The importance of the translation of medical insurance claims

The stakes are high when it comes to the translation of medical insurance claims. If a claim form is not in the native language of the claimant, there is always the possibility of misrepresentation on the insured’s part. Or, potentially, the misunderstanding on the insurance company’s part. Claim forms can be considered critical documents for health coverage access. Not providing translated claim forms in different languages can limit the ability of LEP speakers to properly complete their forms for claim processing. Mistakes can be made and misunderstandings can occur. Once the claim is filled out by the LEP speaker, the insurance company could require translation services to process it properly.

Insurance companies must comply with regulations regarding insurance forms, as many are considered to be critical documents. Critical documents that help obtain health insurance coverage or access to health care services can be required by state or federal law to be provided to the following people: qualified individuals, applicants, qualified employers, qualified employees, or enrollees. In most states, the top 15 languages spoken by the LEP populations of that state must be translated. 

Generally, it’s vital that insurance companies act in good faith at all times in regard to the insurance policies they write. Insurance policies are contracts. Insurance companies must do their best to uphold these contracts, including providing the necessary translation of medical insurance claims to guarantee patients’ access to healthcare coverage.

The post Why the Translation of Medical Insurance Claims Matters appeared first on Terra Translations.

The Dangers of Misunderstood Discharge Information

When a patient can’t understand their discharge information, confusion and less than desired medical results can ensue. Even worse, this lack of understanding can lead to death. In 2015, a patient in Houston, Texas, was discharged from a hospital and experienced a stroke. According to the lawsuit against the hospital, the stroke was caused because the hospital did not translate the patient’s discharge instructions into a language that the patient’s caretaker could read. Not only did this lack of proper communication harm the patient, but if the hospital loses the lawsuit, they can expect to pay more than $200,000. One way or the other, both parties have been harmed. Because of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), healthcare providers are forbidden from discriminating against patients because of their “national origin.” Which means healthcare providers generally have to provide proper translation for patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP).

The Lack of Translation of Discharge Information

How common is a lack of proper linguistic access to discharge information for non-English speakers? More than it should be. A study by the University of California, San Francisco learned that patients with limited English proficiency demonstrated a weaker understanding of their discharge information regarding medications than their English-speaking counterparts. It was also found that only about half of hospitals translate discharge instructions properly. 

Some hospitals only provide privileged access to discharge materials in languages aside from English. They may translate standard discharge instructions for a few common illnesses, but the materials aren’t personalized for each patient. Which means the discharge materials aren’t addressing those patients’ individual needs, such as medication dosing or accounting for a combination of health conditions. While some hospital staff interpreters will provide patients with oral discharge information, they don’t necessarily offer written instructions the patient can reference at home. Only professional translators should handle written translation as they specialize in that skill; it is not something an interpreter is trained for. 

Why the Translation of Discharge Information is So Difficult

Generic discharge information handouts are not the solution and neither is oral instructions. Medical facilities should provide access to written hospital discharge instructions in the language spoken and read by the patient. Most hospitals have a written translation policy for select hospital documents like consent forms, but discharge instructions are not guaranteed at every hospital. 

Machine translation is another flawed solution. Machine translation options, such as Google Translate, that may be available to medical professionals can lead to errors. Complicated instructions and medical jargon can be difficult to translate properly using machine translation. Only a skilled medical translator who is familiar with both languages can safely translate this type of medical information. 

It is possible for hospitals to partner with a translation service provider. While they won’t work from the hospital premises, hospitals and translation service providers can come to an agreement that guarantees quick turnarounds. Time is generally the most pressing challenge in translating discharge information, as a patient can’t wait for their discharge information, so it’s important to arrange a translation timeline that works for both parties.

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