Translating medical records: a case of a diagnosis that did not match

A patient was taking a file to a German clinic for a second opinion: a discharge summary, a histology report, CT and MRI protocols, lab results. The translation was ordered from an agency that took the job at a low rate and split the documents among three translators with no shared glossary and no editor. As a result the same diagnosis was worded three different ways across the three documents, the abbreviation for "malignant neoplasm" was spelled out in one place and left as is in another, and a drug name was translated once by its brand and once by its international name. The German physician could not assemble the documents into a single picture and ordered a repeat biopsy.

Why medical translation is a discipline of its own

The cost of an error here is not a missed deadline but a wrong medical decision. Three things are critical. First — a single consistent terminology across the whole file: one diagnosis, one term, in every document. Second — correct handling of Latin, abbreviations, and units: each abbreviation is spelled out on first use and rendered according to the nomenclature used in the destination country. Third — figures and units are carried over exactly as in the original, with no "rounding" or conversion.

A translator who "improves" the treating physician's wording or guesses at an abbreviation is more dangerous than useful in medicine. Drug names are conventionally doubled: the international non-proprietary name plus the original spelling in brackets, so the receiving physician can find an equivalent at their pharmacy.

How the client can protect themselves

Give the whole file to be translated as a single order, not one document at a time to different people on different days. Tell the agency which country and clinic the documents are going to — the translator needs to check against the local nomenclature. If there are earlier reports in English or German from other doctors, attach them as a terminology reference.

And allow time for clarifying questions: a proper medical translator will always ask about something — an illegible hand, a non-standard abbreviation, a unit of measurement. That is a sign the translation is being done seriously, not just "run through".