We have all seen billboards of medical malpractice and negligence attorneys that focus our attention on the number of preventable medical blunders that occur each day. It is errors like these have caused society call for new solutions to combat these preventable injuries and deaths. When asked, a recent poll found that the majority of respondents felt that significant reductions in medical mistakes could be made through simple and inexpensive training programs and policies. However, the search for reasonable, acceptable, and more effective remedies and countermeasures continues with ever-greater vigor. Unfortunately, most new cases of medical negligence could have easily been avoided. An interesting finding that was presented in a recent seminar is the large number of mistakes that can be traced back to unproven Russian Medical Translation workers. The ideas presented in this expose are provided for the sole intention of educating society so that better healthcare can be made available to everyone.

Slip-ups in medical translation occur all over the world and unfortunately, they often lead to great hazard. All too often, medical facilities are improperly prepared to deal with non-native language speaking patients. Most simply don’t have access to on the spot German or Portuguese to English Translation workers. With the goal of providing a simple and intuitive explanation of the challenges faced in the healthcare field, a group of nurses and doctors have summarized the results of a study that connect problems in medical translation to fatal mistakes.

Human Communication professors teach that that messages are human-formulated inputs that can be transmitted over an organization’s communication channels to other designated recipient or interpreters with an expectation of appropriate action. The messages may be conveyed by voice, in print, by displays, by nonverbal gestures, or by silence when messages could be given. What we are trying to get across is that the transmission process can be direct or roundabout and it can take the form of an electronic message, facial expression, smoke signal or telephone call. Any message can also be transmitted in a wide range of tones that might be humorous, sad, supportive, vindictive and threatening to name a few. Further, they might even be written in a strange script or foreign language. Communication might have a hidden agenda too. In other words, it can full of ambiguity, shun responsibility, and be misleading.

Here is some information from an actual healthcare report that documents what happens when medical translation is poor and the human communication process breaks down In a study conducted by an international healthcare association, high rates of medical errors were found in the health systems of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Of the cases that necessitated a medical translator, serious errors were made in treatment of 1 in 5 patients. A principal reason for the critical mistakes that were made was poor medical translation resources that prevented reliable communiqué. This included not following doctor’s advice because French Translator workers lacked the skills needed to converse adequately in native languages of patients. As a result, many patients found it too difficult to understand the instructions that the physician had given or because the patient did not agree with something that the translator said. In many reports, care recipients were denied adequate care because the interpreter lacked the basic competencies to relay the care recipient’s thoughts, concerns and questions back to the doctor. In many instances, translators couldn’t communicate the doctor’s objectives for treatment. Translators also overlooked other information that pertained to side-effects of medication and emotional burdons. As a result, those who suffered from side effects just stopped taking their medications. Patients were frequently scheduled for duplicate blood work tests, given inaccurate appointment schedules and large errors were made in the translation of their medical records.