With a whopping 66.6 million people in the US speaking a language other than English at home, it’s no wonder the need for healthcare translation services has spiraled. But, how does it all work? How are translators used in healthcare, and how is everything made more accessible for foreign patients? To answer that question, let’s take a look at the world of healthcare translation services.
What falls under medical translation services?
As the name suggests, there’s quite a lot that falls under the medical translation services umbrella. Designed to bridge the gaps between healthcare and patient communication, things like patient history, drug information, technical documentation, hospital reports, and doctors notes all class as medical translations.
Medical translation services require a set level of expertise
As you can imagine, one small slip up could have disastrous consequences for patients. That’s why medical translation services are so highly regulated, and only professionals should provide such services. Translators need to understand the complex terminology used in medical documentation, plus speak 2 languages perfectly. They also have to adhere to medical terminology and regulations set out by medical bodies.
Accessibility
As we mentioned above, translators and interpreters are the ones who make multilingual communication in medicine possible. From translating medical notes from another country to dealing with patient questionnaires, etc., these little changes can make a really big difference to both the patient and the staff.
Then, you have the amazing work of medical interpreters. When face-to-face conversations are needed, they’ll step in and help everyone communicate. This isn’t easy when they have to deal with giving a tough diagnosis, for example; however, professionals know how to behave in such situations so they’re handled with the utmost respect and dignity.
Some of the laws surrounding medical translation services
If you’re worried that your hospital won’t help you overcome a language barrier, don’t worry. There are laws in place that require healthcare providers to provide interpreters and medical translation services to patients whose first language isn’t English.
As you can see, medical translation services are far from a luxury, but they’re something required by law. If you’d like to find out more about how we can help you with all your medical translation services needs, get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.
