Many pharmacies across the globe rely on computer generated medical translations for their prescription labels. On paper this is an efficient means of getting a medical translation of not only the bottle label but any instructions that need to accompany the prescription. However, in practice this system has proven to be unreliable.
Researchers from Dartmouth University surveyed almost 300 pharmacies where close to 50% of the population is Spanish speaking. These pharmacies in Bronx, New York showed grammar mistakes, medical translation errors, and spelling errors. The potential consequence of this is quite alarming: Patients not taking proper dosages, not understanding side effects, or not knowing how this drug mixes with other medications, just to name a few.
It is detrimental to believe a language translator tool or software can replace a human language translator. The medical industry is one place no one can afford to compromise on using a professional translation service; in fact it could be fatal.
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