Translating Medical Documents into Regional Spanish for a Pharma Client

Turacoz, a renowned medical writing and healthcare communications company, has a strong reputation for delivering high-quality, accurate, and culturally sensitive medical documentation. Our clients include top pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers, and medical device manufacturers who rely on our expertise to communicate complex medical information clearly and effectively.

Recently, one of our prominent pharmaceutical clients, who operates in multiple international markets, faced a significant challenge. They needed to translate a comprehensive set of medical documents into regional Spanish for their operations in Latin America. These documents included patient information leaflets, clinical trial protocols, product monographs, and regulatory submissions.

The Challenge:

Initial Attempts and Realizations: The client initially attempted to manage the translation internally, leveraging their in-house team. However, they quickly encountered several obstacles:

1. Medical Nuances: The translated documents lacked the precise medical terminology necessary for clarity and accuracy. This led to potential misinterpretations that could compromise patient safety and treatment efficacy.
2. Regional Specificity: The translations did not reflect the regional variations of Spanish, which could lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations by the target audience.
3. Resource Limitations: The internal team did not have access to medical professionals fluent in regional Spanish, limiting their ability to produce high-quality translations.
4. Time Constraints: The project had a tight deadline, and the internal team struggled to balance the translation task with their regular responsibilities.
5. Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring that the translated documents met local regulatory standards was critical, and the internal team lacked the expertise to guarantee compliance.
6. Consistency Issues: Maintaining consistency in medical terminology and style across all documents was challenging without a specialized translation process.

Realizing the critical nature of accurate medical communication and the risks associated with subpar translations, the client sought external expertise to ensure their documents were both medically sound and linguistically appropriate. The risks included:

• Patient Safety Risks: Incorrect translations could lead to patients misunderstanding medical instructions, potentially causing harm or ineffective treatment.
• Legal and Regulatory Risks: Non-compliance with local regulatory requirements could result in legal repercussions, fines, and delayed market entry.
• Reputational Damage: Poor-quality translations could damage the client’s reputation and undermine trust with healthcare professionals and patients.
• Operational Inefficiencies: Miscommunications could lead to increased queries and clarifications from healthcare providers, resulting in operational inefficiencies and higher costs.
• Market Access Delays: Inaccurate translations could delay product approvals and market access, impacting the client’s revenue and competitive positioning.

Turacoz Approach:

Turacoz, a proficient medical writing and translation agency, accepted the challenge and devised a strategic plan to address the client’s needs. Our approach included the following key steps:

• Engaging a Local Spanish Medical Writer: We identified and collaborated with a local Spanish medical writer with a robust medical background and proficiency in regional Spanish. This ensured that the writer had both the medical knowledge and linguistic expertise needed for the task.
• Understanding Client Requirements: We conducted detailed discussions with the client to understand their specific needs, the intended audience, and the critical areas where previous translations had fallen short.
• Customized Translation Process: Our medical writer began the translation process, ensuring that all medical terminologies were correctly interpreted and localized. The writer also incorporated regional language peculiarities to make the documents culturally and contextually relevant.
• Quality Assurance: The translated documents underwent rigorous quality checks, including reviews by other medical professionals and native Spanish speakers, to ensure accuracy and fluency.
• Client Collaboration and Feedback: We maintained continuous communication with the client, providing them with drafts and incorporating their feedback promptly. This iterative process ensured that the final product met their exact specifications.

Outcome:

The result was a set of medical documents that were not only precise and accurate in their medical content but also resonated with the target regional Spanish-speaking audience. The client was highly satisfied with the quality of the translations and the professional approach of Turacoz.

Key Benefits for the Client:

Accurate Medical Communication: The translated documents accurately conveyed the medical information, ensuring clear understanding.

Cultural and Linguistic Relevance: The use of regional Spanish made the documents more relatable and easier to understand for the target audience.

Enhanced Credibility: By providing translations that met high standards of medical accuracy and cultural relevance, the client strengthened their credibility and reliability in the market.

Regulatory Compliance: The documents met all local regulatory standards, ensuring legal compliance and reducing risk for the client.

Efficiency and Timeliness: The project was completed within the stipulated timeline, allowing the client to proceed with their planned initiatives without delay.

Conclusion:

This case highlights Turacoz’s commitment to delivering customized solutions that meet our clients’ specific needs. By leveraging local expertise and a deep understanding of  medical communication, we were able to turn a challenging situation into a success story. Our ability to provide high-quality, tailored services not only satisfied our client but also underscored our role as a trusted partner in the healthcare industry. This case study illustrates our capacity to handle complex translation projects, ensuring that our clients can communicate effectively and accurately across different regions and languages.

Turacoz, a medical communications company, remains dedicated to addressing unique client challenges with innovative and strategic solutions, reinforcing our position as a leader in medical writing and healthcare communications.