In the US, this is very well understood and there are several regulations that require medical institutions to provide language access services to patients with limited English proficiency. To read more on this topic, take a look at this article in our Blog.

We have years of experience offering Healthcare Translation Services and in this article, we will share with you an overview of what is important to consider when translating Healthcare content.

Understanding Healthcare Translations

Healthcare communications and documents addressed to the patient will contain information that it’s critical for the receiver: Diagnoses, Instructions, Medication, etc. That’s why it is paramount that the patient understands perfectly every piece of information directed to them: The translations need to be patient-focused. A patient-focused translation is simple in its language (5^th to 6th-grade reading level) and ensures that the information and instructions are understood by everybody regardless of their education level.

The tone must be formal, but as warm and friendly as possible. It is important to be professional without losing the human touch. We must not forget that we’re addressing a person that might be going through health problems, or aiding a relative or close person who needs medical help.

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US, and institutions in the US will usually translate their documents into what is called “US Spanish”. It is a neutral flavor of Spanish that uses some English rules and conventions that are familiar to Spanish speakers in the US.

Considering that America’s Spanish-speaking immigration comes from different Countries and Regions, sometimes choices need to be made in order to keep terminology as generic as possible.

For more information on US Spanish, you can visit the following article.

Tips to getting Healthcare Translations right

Here is a list of points that will guide you through your next Healthcare translation project.

Healthcare content can be a bit repetitive and have some terms and parts such as disclosures that come up frequently across different documents. If that’s the case of the content you need to translate, it may be worth investing in creating a glossary.

A Glossary is a list of very important terms that are carefully translated, reviewed, and approved by the end client, that is to be used by all the translators and editors involved in the project. Creating a glossary isn’t expensive and it is a great tool to ensure quality and consistency.

There need to be clear instructions regarding Healthcare Plans’ names: do they need to be translated? And If so, is there a translation that is already approved and in use?

Regarding medication, it is important to determine if drug names need to be translated, if they should be kept in English, or if the translations should use the commercial name.

Phone numbers also require a special mention, it must be clear if in order to receive attention in their own language patients need to dial a different phone number than English-speaking patients.

Last but not least, it is always important to have clear instructions for date and number format, since it can be a source of confusion. For example, imagine having a doctor’s appointment on May 6^th, 2021. In English, the date is written as 05/06/2021 (MONTH/DAY/YEAR) while in Latin America it would be written as 06/05/2021 (DAY/MONTH/YEAR). This is just an example of how small details can end up causing problems.

In conclusion

Just like with everything related to healthcare, the most important thing is to put the patient’s needs first.

This is achieved by mentally putting ourselves in the place of a person who is vulnerable and needs medical attention. This person needs to be able to understand what their healthcare plan covers, what’s their provider response to a claim, the diagnosis they receive, and what medication has been prescribed.

We hope that you find this information useful and that it helps you in your continuing efforts to take care of your patient’s health and wellbeing.

At Australis Localization, we have translated millions of words of Healthcare content and we consider it a subject dear to us. If you have any questions or would like to receive a quote, you can contact us at production@australis-localization.com

Now put yourself in the place of an immigrant who is not fluent in English. You will find yourself in a vulnerable position as everybody around you speaks a language you don’t understand. Critical aspects of Healthcare like communicating symptoms, receiving instructions for check-ups, giving consent, understanding the diagnosis, or being able to understand recommendations and prescriptions, now become huge obstacles.

Here is where Linguistic Services turn vital, and sadly this isn’t an exaggeration. There are documented cases where faulty or non-existent linguistic services resulted in deaths.

Fortunately, In the United States Persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) have the right to receive language accessibility services. There is a significant legal framework for these rights starting from the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Title VI) and including among others the Executive Order (EO) 13166: Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency.

This resulted in the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Policy Guidance.

There are four factors that medical providers should consider in determining the extent and types of language assistance that should be pursued.

• The number or proportion of LEP persons served or eligible to be served: the greater the number or proportion of LEP persons, the more likely language services are needed.
• Frequency of contact: the more frequent the contact with a particular language group, the more likely it that interpreting or translating services in that language are needed.
• The more important the recipient’s service or program, the more likely language services are needed.
• The Guidance states that “smaller recipients with more limited budgets are not expected to provide the same level of language services as larger recipients with larger budgets. (…)Large entities and those entities serving a significant number or proportion of LEP persons should ensure that their resource limitations are well-substantiated before using this factor as a reason to limit language assistance.”

If the institution accepts Medicare (Part A or C) or Medicaid patients, then it cannot avoid its responsibility to provide language access services. Please note that even if the institution does not accept Medicare or Medicaid it may be obligated to provide language access services by state law.

Even though it is a legal requirement, healthcare providers have the chance of going beyond the law requirements and doing what is best for their patients.

That includes supporting as many languages as are needed, working with qualified language professionals, and evaluating the performance of language providers continuously.

We started this article by explaining the situation of an immigrant facing the challenge of going to a hospital while having Limited English Proficiency.  That story can have a happy ending if the hospital gives the patient the opportunity to effectively communicate with the medical staff.

An additional important benefit of robust language support is the ability to send doctors translated versions of the patients’ clinical histories, and we must not forget how important it is to allow patients to provide informed consent. After all, can patients consent to something they don’t understand?

Language Services have quickly become an integral aspect of Healthcare. As demographic trends continue, it is up to the institutions to be up to the challenge and provide services that have the best interest of their patients as their main priority.

At Australis Localization, we provide healthcare translation services for written content such as brochures, informed consents, marketing materials, transcription, and subtitles.

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SOURCES:

“The Legal Framework for Language Access in Healthcare Settings: Title VI and Beyond” by Alice Hm Chen, MD, MPH, Mara K. Youdelman, JD, LLM, and Jamie Brooks, JD: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2150609/

“Are Your Services Accessible to All?” by Daneen Grooms, MHSA and Carol Polovoy: https://leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/leader.FTR2.22112017.54