Medical and pharmaceutical translation for doctors' letters, leaflets and device manuals
- ISO 17100 and ISO 9001, audited by DEKRA
- Native-speaker translators with medical subject knowledge
- Dosages and findings compared with the source
- Certified translation for certificates an authority will receive
Medical documents come from patients and from research
Medical texts reach this service from two directions. Individuals bring doctors’ letters, findings and certificates needed by an authority, a university or abroad. Other files come from drug and device development: clinical trial documents, approval dossiers and package leaflets. In both cases an error can harm health or delay an approval.
Examples of medical documents translated:
- medical certificates and attestations
- surgical reports and patient records
- diagnoses and findings
- texts from human medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine
- clinical studies and research results
- package leaflets and product information
A medical file is revised before it is delivered
- Enquiry
Send the file or a scan. Say who will read it, for example a clinic or an insurer.
- Quote
A quote by standard line with a delivery date, without obligation.
- Translation
A native speaker of the target language with medical subject knowledge translates the text.
- Revision and delivery
A second specialist compares it with the source. Delivery follows in the agreed format.
Send the file or a scan with the target language and purpose, and you will usually have a quote on the same working day.
Dosages and findings are compared with the source
Every translation is revised by a second qualified translator, as ISO 17100 requires. The reviser reads source and translation side by side and marks omissions and shifts in meaning. In a medical text, that covers dosages, units, negations and the side of the body. One wrong word there changes a finding.
Volume and complexity decide the cost of a medical file
A medical report is billed by volume, per standard line (Normzeile) of 50 to 55 characters including spaces. Language pair, complexity, research effort and the quality of the source document (scan or copy versus an editable file) also count. So does text already held in the translation memory, for example from an earlier version of a leaflet. How the units are defined is explained under specialised translations.
German doctors’ letters follow a familiar structure
A German doctor’s letter or discharge letter (Arztbrief) usually runs from diagnoses and history to findings, treatment and recommendations. A translation that keeps this order lets a doctor abroad find each part at once. Diagnosis codes and laboratory values stay as they are. Only the words around them change language.
Diagnoses in German care are coded in ICD-10-GM, the German modification of the WHO classification. The code tells a reader abroad which diagnosis is meant, even where terms differ. German clinical shorthand needs more care. Abbreviations such as V. a. (suspected), Z. n. (status post) and o. B. (no abnormal findings) do not carry over into English as they stand. An English reader needs them written out.
Finding, study or application: we translate other medical documents too. Name your document in the request.
Leaflets and device manuals follow EU language rules
Much medical translation is regulated text. Under Directive 2001/83/EC, the package leaflet must be in the official language or languages of each market. Under the Medical Device Regulation (EU) 2017/745, each member state sets the language of instructions for use. The IVDR (EU) 2017/746 applies the same rule to in vitro diagnostics.
For centrally authorised medicines, the European Medicines Agency publishes QRD templates for product information. The templates exist in every EU language and fix headings and standard statements. Where a template gives a standard sentence, the published wording is the one to use. Clinical trials fall under Regulation (EU) No 536/2014. Each member state concerned sets the language of the application dossier.
Doctors and patients need different words
One condition appears in two registers. A finding written for a doctor says hepatomegaly. A package leaflet written for patients says enlarged liver. Directive 2001/83/EC requires the leaflet to reflect consultations with target patient groups, usually a readability test. The translation has to keep the register of its source, or the leaflet no longer serves patients.
The Latin and Greek terms described above keep a doctor’s vocabulary stable across languages. Consistency between documents needs more. Translation memory systems and glossaries are used where needed. A term chosen for the first leaflet then stays the same in the next. Earlier translations or term lists from your side help, if you have them.
The vocabulary of medicine includes its own names for medicines, body parts and organs, organ functions, diseases, diagnostic procedures and surgical methods. Latin and Greek technical terminology forms the basis of medical jargon. The advantage of these terms is their international standardisation, as laid down in medical nomenclatures.
The specific translation requirements for specialised medical or pharmacological translations stem from the wide range of text types in this field. The texts to be translated range from a medicine’s package leaflet and the operating instructions for a medical device to a scientific article for a medical journal.
In addition to technical expertise in both the source and target languages, our translators also possess a firm grasp of medical terminology and can translate your technical medical texts from German, English, French or Italian into all European languages and other languages, as well as in numerous language combinations.
Certification, medical fields and confidentiality
Do medical certificates need a certified translation?
Often, for example when surgical reports or certificates go to an authority, a university or abroad. Which form is needed depends on who has to accept the translation. Check with the recipient before ordering.
Which medical fields are covered?
Human medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy and medical technology, as well as biology and chemistry. Safety data sheets and other chemical documents are described under chemical translation.
How are patient data kept confidential?
All translators are bound by confidentiality agreements, and processing follows the GDPR. The GDPR treats health data as a special category of personal data (Article 9). A separate non-disclosure agreement is possible for sensitive projects.
What does a medical translation cost?
Language pair, volume, complexity, research effort and the quality of the source document count, and so does text already held in the translation memory, for example from an earlier version of a leaflet. The quote states the price per standard line and the delivery date and is without obligation.
Can machine translation be used for medical documents?
For reading a text yourself, a machine translation can give a first idea. When a document goes to an authority, a clinic or a university, the second reading by a specialist stays part of every medical job, and an authority that has to accept the translation needs a certified translation.
Send the file or a scan with the target language and purpose, and you will usually have a quote on the same working day.
Our specialist translators cover a wide range of industries and fields. Explore our other areas of expertise: