Medical translation is specialised translation of medical and pharmaceutical documents that requires a deep understanding of medicine, anatomy, pharmacology and medical regulations. It encompasses clinical studies, pharmaceutical documentation, patient information, medical records and scientific publications where precision is crucial for patient safety and regulatory compliance.
Why is specialist expertise required?
Medical translation concerns people’s health and lives, which places extremely high demands on accuracy. An incorrect translation of dosing instructions, side effects or contraindications can have serious consequences for patient safety. Medical terminology is complex and precise, where each term has a specific meaning that must be preserved in translation. Medical devices and pharmaceuticals must comply with strict regulations in each market. Translations must follow guidelines from regulatory bodies such as Läkemedelsverket and EMA (European Medicines Agency), which requires an understanding of both medical science and regulatory requirements.
What is included in professional medical translation?
Professional medical translation includes translation by medically trained translators or translators with documented medical expertise, review by additional experts (four-eyes principle), quality assurance according to ISO standards with ISO-certified system support, medical term bases with verified terminology and secure handling with confidentiality agreements in accordance with patient data confidentiality. An experienced language partner works with translators who have medical backgrounds or extensive documented experience in medical translation. They use medical reference works and term databases to verify terminology and ensure that translations meet regulatory requirements in the target market. Another important aspect is the validation process where the client’s own experts approve the translation. Fluid Translation has extensive experience in medical translation and ensures client approval with the ICR (In-Country Review) validation tool.