Labels in medicine bottles contain diverse information like dosage, storage instruction, side effects, warnings, frequency of use, expiry date etc. When these medicines are sold in a multilingual market like the European Union, they need to be accurately translated in the local language of the country where they are sold. EU has issued several directives like medical device directive, clinical trials directive, in-vitro diagnostic directive and so on which make it mandatory to translate medical labels into the local language where the products are going to be tested, distributed or sold.

Literal translation i.e. mere replacement of words won’t be sufficient when translating medical information that would be accessed by persons of various education backgrounds. Utmost care need to be taken in order to ensure that the full import of any medical instruction is carried into the translated text as well. The translation quality has to overcome any cultural, regional and language barriers. Hence engaging professional translation service providers is imperative when translating labels and other drug related information.

Electronic labeling systems greatly assist the process of generating multilingual labels. They allow re-use of contents from previous products into slightly modified products. The information in the form of text and symbols are modularized and can be assembled in the form of a template. The text is separated from coding that generates the labels and the process of translating into many languages is greatly simplified. Electronic labeling systems along with translation memory ensure high level of consistency, high turn around speed and low cost.

After completing the translation, the medical device / pharmaceutical companies have to get it approved and certified for accuracy. If there are any mistakes in translation it can lead to litigation. Many translation agencies limit their liability to the project cost which would normally be a small amount like $1000. But reputed companies undertake insurance policy of much larger amount like up to a few million dollars to assure translation quality in order to maintain their reputation in front of the public. A proper process assisted by technology tools would be required to guarantee high translation quality which is essential in case of medical translation.

Clinical trial of newly discovered drugs has become a global business. With many non English speaking participants coming into the picture, drug companies particularly from US have to comply with FDA regulations of explaining the pros and cons of a clinical trial in the native language of the participants before undertaking it. FDA specifies that “the information that is given to the subject or the representative shall be in language understandable to the subject or the representative”. Further the consent must be obtained in writing from the subjects.

Informed consent forms are very technical in nature and must be translated with utmost care. Any mistake in translation can lead to misunderstanding by the participants in the clinical trial. Confusion in meaning would also result in violation of FDA regulations. High degree of professionalism is required in translating this type of medical documents.

The readability of the content by the subjects is very important. The wording must be in plain English or the native language as the case may be and the recommended standard for the language level is 4^th to 8^th grade of school. Any scientific or legal term must be explained in simple terms. The original and translated version must be ‘consistent’ which means the original style and content must be preserved. Even the font size and any footer information must be maintained. No loose translation like for example study or research substituted with treatment; replacement dose with additional dose; high BP with hypertension is permitted.

The translation must maintain first person account like ‘I’, ‘my’, ’me’ throughout the ICF. Translation memory tools identify repetitive text present in the source document and correlate it to previously translated segment to ensure consistency. This can speed up ICF translation and reduce cost and must be made use of as far as possible. Engaging professional translation service providers with experience in this kind of translation jobs would guarantee that quality and standards are maintained as per FDA regulations.

To further ensure quality of translation of ICF, back translation i.e. from the target to source language of the translated documents by a second translator may be resorted to in addition to editing of the original translation. It would clearly bring out any misunderstanding of the subject matter by the translators. This may make translation time consuming but offers means to eliminate some of the errors that might have crept in the translation.

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase used for convenience and is spelled differently depending on language. It is mostly expressed in small letters. An acronym is a word created from the initial letters of a phrase or string of words. An acronym is mostly expressed in capital letters. Both abbreviations and acronyms are usually listed separately in dictionaries.

The prevalence of use of abbreviations and acronyms in the medical field is high due to reasons of history as well due to the saving of time and space that they provide in emergencies. They are popular in both forms of communication i.e. written like prescriptions, reports etc as well as in oral communication.

The medical names of many diseases as well as the original name of chemical compounds prescribed for their cure have traditionally been long and unwieldy, hindering communication. Some examples are electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), white blood count (WBC), etc. But the flip side of use of abbreviations and acronyms is that their true meaning becomes inaccessible to patients for whom the therapy is meant.

Adding to the difficulties of a medical translator is the multiple meanings of the same abbreviation or acronym. Depending on the context, the translator has to choose the right meaning. This fact increases the need for engaging professional translation service for translating medical documents. Some examples are:

CLOT can mean Coagulation, Lysis or Thrombosis; Cost Lowering Options for optimizing outcomes in Thrombosis or Comparison of Low molecular weight heparin vs Oral anticoagulant therapy for the prevention of recurrent venous Thromboembolism in patients with cancer

GCS can mean Glasgow Coma Scale or General Clinical Status

OP can mean outpatient or original pack

Both Latin and Greek origin words are freely abbreviated particularly in the branches of clinical medicine, anatomy and pharmacy. Fortunately since many of the European languages are Latin based, the abbreviations used are the same in those languages.

Some examples of abbreviations which are of Latin or Greek origin used in medical field are:

s.i. which refers to sine indicatione or semis interna

P.S. referring to paroi septale

P.P. referring to paroi posterieure

Thus a medical translator has to have a deep understanding of the subject as well as inclination for research to get accurate medical translations done.

Medical translation involves specialist knowledge and medical translators need to have advanced degrees in medicine apart from a flair for language. Medicine involves many specializations like anaesthesia, orthopaedics, immunology, cardiology, neurology, nephrology, ophthalmology, pathology, radiology, dermatology, dentistry, gastroenterology, oncology and the like. Medical translators are sought after by medical equipment manufacturers, medical researchers, pharmaceutical firms, clinicians etc. professional translation services would be required if in house expertise is not available in order to carry out accurate translations.

Typically, medical translation in hospitals involves translating documents and reports such as patient records like case report forms, patient questionnaires, clinical trials, discharge summaries, medical reports and charts, prescriptions and insurance claims, etc. In pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturing companies documents such as drug registration, instructions for use (IFUs) and inserts, informed consent forms, installation manuals, packaging and labelling, operating manuals, patent filings, product specifications, regulatory documents, software application interface, toxicology reports, protocols, web based contents etc would require translation. Translation in the field of medical research would involve translating scientific papers, medical terminology glossaries, abstracts, questionnaires etc.

With bulk of the medical literature available in English and German knowledge of these two languages would be very useful for medical translators. Also most of the terminology being Latin or Greek based makes the job of a medical translator a little easier compared to other fields of translation. A good medical translator should have apart from proficiency in source and target languages, researching capabilities. He/she must keep abreast of the latest medical terminology by going through most recent journals as well as browsing the web. Typical tools required for medical translation would be up-to-date scientific and medical dictionaries, books, online access to internet etc.

With the recent declaration of software as a device by regulators in Europe, localization of software packages for medical applications like in other areas assumes great importance. Graphical User Interface (GUI), online help files, error messages, user manuals etc. need to be accurately translated in various European languages if one intends to market software in Europe.

A medical translator is usually tasked with doing his work in either a home setting (for freelancers) or in offices provided by the professional translation agency he’s affiliated with. Most of the human translation work assigned to this type of translator involves the translation of patient questionnaires, directions, or brochures into other languages with adaptation and localization in mind. As such, even though medical translation offers about as many field-specific terms as legal translation or technical translation, a lot less emphasis is placed on nigh-transliterating the text to maintain faithfulness to the source.

Necessities and Requirements

Even though a lot of leeway is usually given to translation service experts when it comes to translating medical materials for patient perusal, it’s not always a simple job to do thanks to several necessities and requirements needed in order to successfully finish a given project. For instance, source text patient literature commonly uses hard-to-translate idiomatic or colloquial phrases. Translators who are adept at localizing text so that the same meaning could be understood in a different context are needed during such situations.

Furthermore, just because the translator already has faithfulness and localization factors to worry about doesn’t mean that he can be lackadaisical when it comes to making the brochures informative, amusing, engaging, and inviting, which in turn helps non-medically trained people understand a specific disease, treatment, medicine, or service available for things like quitting smoking, weight loss, and so on. A translator’s writing technique is just as important as a well-translated text.

The tone of the original text much be observed, which is why medical translations are a lot like rewrites more often than not. As per usual with a field-specific translation project, medical translation necessitates bilingual (or even multilingual) proficiency in both the language to which a document will be translated in and the language that the source text uses in order to understand the main idea of the work inside and out.

Commercial translation is probably the most common type of translation that translators are engaged in. Whether it is lawyers, engineers, accountants, or doctors to name a few professions all have requirement for translation some time or other. Any type of business activity involves commercial translation. Documents like memos, contracts, letters, emails, brochures, catalogues, reports, agreements, circulars, company announcements, etc all fall into the commercial translation category. With the advent of internet, websites also need to be translated into different languages for multinational corporations. The translation may be in hard copy or a digital copy.

Technical translation is the second most common type of translation. It covers a broad spectrum: from papers presented at international conferences to just a manual of how to operate a machine. Often it requires translators to be up-to-date in the relevant field viz. medicine, engineering etc. They are usually qualified technically as well as in languages. Manufacturing companies often have to translate documents of how to assemble a machine, operate it or trouble shoot it in languages spoken in countries where the machinery is exported.  In products involving computers, both the hardware as well as software manuals need to be translated. The translation may also involve drawings, on screen displays, print outs etc. The translation involved is so huge that large companies have specialized technical language services department within the company. Software giants like Microsoft, Oracle etc. who regularly release new updates of their software products need to localize them which term includes translation of menu bars, help files, popup windows etc as well as user manuals in different languages. They also need to update their multilingual websites with the latest information.

The third type of translation viz. literary translation has been in existence since biblical times. This category includes translation of novels, poems, biographies, short stories, songs, film scripts, etc. The literary work may be fiction or non fiction though the latter is more popular as far as translation is concerned. Although the market may be somewhat limited compared to the other two categories, the return is probably better. Translation of a popular book for example can reward the translator very well. The translators usually have degree in literature as well as in the concerned language pairs.

The above is a broad attempt to classify translation. In reality however, the border lines are very thin i.e. no one prevents you from switching over from one category to the other if you are adept at it. The same person can do all three types of translations though it is rare.

When it comes to technical write ups legal documents etc, there are numerous complex words and terms that are used in these documents. These terms could be used in several contexts or slangs depending upon the country of origin of the document. For example, there may be a variation in the French spoken in France in comparison to French spoken by Caribbean nations with respect to certain words and terms that may have evolved through localisation. When translating documents utilising an electronic translation service like Google translate, it will not be able to identify the variations of terms thus resulting in misinterpreted sentences. When such translations are provided to the end recipient, it can cause a lot of confusion with regard to the meaning that the document conveys.

Unlike an automated translator, a translation service utilises the skills of people who are professionals in their respective fields. A doctor would work on medical documents while a lawyer would work on legal paper work. Hence the translators know the content that they are dealing with and understand the terms and contexts that are used in the documents. This means that generic meanings will not be utilised and hence allows for proper translation of the documents providing accurate results with no deviation in terms of meaning. The people who work on the documents to be translated are carefully chosen to be strong and proficient in the languages that they are working with. This ensures that content is of good quality with minimal errors. In addition, translation services have quality control measures in place, with additional people who are aptly qualified in those specific languages, proof reading and comparing the documents to ensure that there is no deviation in content.

An additional benefit of working with a professional translation service is that one deals directly with people and with the translators themselves in many cases. This allows the client to brief the translator directly such that the person who is working on the document knows exactly what is expected of him or her. With such client-customer interactions possible, it allows for better flow of ideas and less errors as well. Customer service and quality of work is assured to be among the best when one goes through a translation service, thus providing for satisfied customers, always.

A Hospital in Argentina might seek the medical assistance of a Doctor in Malaysia because he or she may be an expert having gained sufficient medical expertise in a specific medical condition or operational procedure. Such interactions always require the preparation of documents and reports for study and transfer of information. The doctors in different parts of a world may not share a common language. This is where medical translation services come into the picture.

Translation services are employed to translate medical documents that have been written in one language into another language. Doctors in Spain may not completely understand a document written in English and hence it is essential that the document is translated into Spanish, such that they are able to understand every word. With technical documents like medical reports, consistency in meaning is essential.

Words can be phrased in several ways that may put them in a differing context, hence it is essential that the right words are used at the right place to project the correct meaning. Translation services employ people who are proficient in both the languages of the original document and the language that it needs to be translated to. They also choose people who have considerable experience in the medical industry, preferably doctors themselves or other medical technicians who are well aware of the content of medical reports and documents.

A translator essentially must be able to completely understand the content of the document after which he or she is able to translate the document including all the technical nomenclature to provide a translated document that conveys exactly the same information as the original document. This is highly essential in the medical industry as a document could convey the wrong message if translated improperly and could be fatal to a person. Hence the priority towards trained medical professionals is given for the translation of medical documents. This will provide fool proof translation of important medical documents.

Translation services available today have helped a lot in the medical field making great strides. With the strong ability of professional translation, medical personnel are able to send documents across the world for verification, processing and even discussions. Documents and papers written by a medical scientist at one research lab in the world, thanks to translation, can be read and appreciated by all the medical personnel across the world. This allows for greater transfer of knowledge and better utilisation of medical facilities the world over. Translation has become an integral part of the medical field and will continue to serve the interests of the community.