Mistakes happen in every aspect of life. They occur in our homes and in the workplace.

To paraphrase Edward Phelps; a person who makes no mistakes makes nothing. 

But what happens when the errors we make result in dire consequences?

For instance, an error during a life-threatening surgery or when piloting a flight. 

In the real world, certain scenarios mandate little to no margin for errors. So this begs the question: Is there any margin for error during medical translation?

In this blog post, we take a look at the high level of expertise required during medical translation, and situations where errors in medical translation had terrible outcomes.

How medical translation works

Before we delve any further, let us take a few seconds and clear the air on what is medical translation.

Simply put, medical translation is the translation of medical information. 

This information could be in the form of; medical research journals, patient records, clinical trial documents, medical device manuals, etc.

We must also emphasize the difference between medical translation and interpretation as these two are often confused with each other. While medical translation focuses on the written translation of the earlier mentioned information, medical interpretation deals with the real-time verbal communication between medical professionals and patients from one language to another.

Unlike other types of translations, medical translation involves a very stringent process to ensure that no term is mistranslated or lost during translation. 

Although translation companies may have different procedures when carrying out medical translation, one thing that is clear for all to see is that from the initial source information extraction step to the final review step and all the editing and proofreading occurring in-between. So much attention to detail is always observed.

Why is medical translation important?

There is no better way to show the importance of medical translation than the illustration of our current reality.

As the search by companies working on the Covid-19 vaccine proceeds, pharmaceutical companies around the world are in — what some might call the space race of the 21st century to find a generally acceptable vaccine.

In fact, reports suggest that over 666 drugs and vaccines are in various stages of development targeting the Coronavirus. The process of producing a vaccine would involve the publishing of clinical trial documents, medical research journals, etc. all of which requires translation to the global audience.

In the general sense, medical translation enables both patients and health professionals to be able to adequately play their respective roles in health care delivery.

2 percent error in medical translation is enough to cause significant harm

Medical translation is one of those domains where there is no room for error due to its sensitive nature. In a study carried out by the University of California, researchers found out in a study to translate medical instructions, which an error margin as little as 2 percent was enough to cause meaningful harm to patients. This is why it is recommended that medical translators have a medical background and are extremely proficient in all the languages involved.

Also, regulatory industries like the FDA and EMA have strict conditions for regulatory approval. Oftentimes, even slight errors during the translation of clinical documents are enough to get products declined.

A single wrongly translated word can cause so much damage

In one of our previous posts, we mentioned the case of misdiagnosis on a patient due to improper context surrounding the ailment, which led to permanent health damage. Another case of greater significance occurred in 2007 where 47 patients had to undergo another knee replacement surgery as a result of the mistranslation of a single word. This can lead to grave reputational damage asides from the financial implications.

It is worthy to note that in some extreme cases of wrong medical translation, fatalities may occur.

To conclude, by now we believe one thing should be clear for all to see. There simply are no margins for error when carrying out medical translations, which is why there are even standards of compliance to the quality of medical translation as one wrong step could prove catastrophic.

We understand the need for accuracy during medical translation.

TranslationsinLondon is poised to playing our role in aiding medical innovation, especially during these trying times. 

Whether it is the provision of accurate and top-notch clinical trial translations or facilitating the increasing demand for telehealth services.

The expert life science translators and interpreters at TIL are available on standby to ensure that all your medical translation needs are met.

To get started, give us a call today on + 44 (0) 1273 028541 or send us a mail at info@translationsinlondon.com