The healthcare industry is a demanding field where quality translation can’t be overemphasized. If you are looking for an effective way to expand your language access and increase patient satisfaction, read our entry to discover useful criteria and standards that will bring value to your healthcare QMS system. Learn about best practices in medical translation!
Three tips for healthcare translations
The choice of a healthcare translation service provider affects not only patients and their satisfaction, but also the entire healthcare organization. After all, translation enables obtaining vital information about a patient’s condition, concerns and ailments.
Effective communication is essential to provide patients with the help they need. Moreover, quality translation streamlines the operation of the entire health institution.
Below, you can see a list of three best practices for healthcare translations:
Centralization
Healthcare translation can’t be effective without centralization. When choosing a translation agency to cooperate with, pay attention to its work scheme, the number of specialists involved in the process (research, translation, localization, proofreading), and make sure that your documents will be tackled by a translator with expertise in the field.
Outsourcing the translation process to an external company is beneficial for your healthcare business, as language service providers have a profound understanding of multiple languages, disciplines and jargons. Thanks to it, they cooperate with each other to deliver high-quality end-products.
Consistency
Everybody who works at a sizable healthcare institution knows that consistency is the key quality standard. When looking for a translation company, verify whether your potential candidates for cooperation benefit from tools that help to manage consistency. These may be:
- Translation memories – they store content and enable reusing terms that appear frequently. In the long-run, choosing services of a company that benefits from such tools can reduce translation costs.
- Glossaries – it’s important to note that different organizations may prefer different vocabulary and expressions. A quality translation agency should be interested in your requirements, style guides or glossaries. This is the only way to deliver consistent translations.
Health literacy
Not every patient is familiar with medical terminology. For this reason, it’s crucial to ensure that the selected translation agency is flexible and takes into account the health literacy of the document’s recipients. Both patients and specialists should be able to easily comprehend the translated text.
What are the best practices for medical translations?
The healthcare industry is a sector where teamwork and constant refinements are of utmost importance. Numerous organizations benefit from the so-called Quality Management Software that effectively streamlines the operation of the institution and identifies areas for improvement.
QMSes help to manage documents, complaints, inspections, supplies, electronic signatures, reports or even validations. Nowadays, when the security of patient data is vital for most healthcare institutions, proper documentation and confidentiality are one of the key factors that should be taken into account when searching for an LSP.
If you look for a healthcare translation agency, make sure that its services can improve your patients’ well-being. Choosing companies that protect sensitive data instills confidence in your organization.
The best practices for healthcare translations – the takeaway
Quality healthcare translations should comply with the regulations and standards of the healthcare institution. Professional LSPs are able to support your QMS by streamlining communication and preventing potential mistakes caused by miscommunication.
Do you want to discover five best translation methods? Check out our blog!
