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