NHS England has sounded the alarm over the risks of using translation apps after a number of organisations have begun using them to bridge language barriers between staff and patients. Whilst translation apps can provide a quick and convenient way to get an overview of any communication between speakers of different languages, there are serious risks involved in using AI or machine translation in the medical field.
Translation apps aren’t just what the doctor ordered
Let’s take a look at a few examples of where mistranslation has not only cost lives but also cost medical practices dearly.
The Tran Family
When a Vietnamese girl presented with flu-like symptoms at a California hospital, her 9 year old sibling was used as an interpreter and the patient was discharged with a prescription written in English. With no translation available and her parents unable to read the English instructions, she tragically died from a fatal reaction to the drugs.
Willie Ramirez
Willie Ramirez was rushed to hospital in Florida after falling into a coma. His Cuban family said he was “intoxicado”, meaning he had food poisoning, but a Spanish-speaking member of staff at the hospital incorrectly interpreted their words and told doctors Ramirez had overdosed on drugs. So instead of treating the cerebral haemorrhage he was actually suffering from, he was treated for an overdose which left him quadriplegic. The delay in appropriate treatment caused by the mistranslation resulted in a $71 million malpractice settlement.
Knee Surgery in Germany
It’s not just misunderstandings between informal and inexperienced interpreters that can put people’s lives in danger; mistranslated instructions and labels can have a serious impact on patients too. A prosthesis component in Germany was incorrectly translated as “non-cemented” instead of “non-modular cemented”, meaning 47 knee replacements were conducted without any cement so 47 people had to go through painful and unnecessary surgery again after the error was discovered.
Family History in Spain
Medical records are so easy to translate properly with a reliable translation agency, but cutting corners can leave people’s lives in shatters. When British ex-pat Teresa Tarry found a lump, she visited her local Spanish hospital for a consultation. Her mistranslated medical records detailed a family history of cancer and, due to the language barrier and no professional translation support, she underwent a double mastectomy that was completely unnecessary. She sued the hospital for €600,000 in damages for the trauma she experienced.
The dangers of mistranslation and misinterpretation don’t end with healthcare. Just think about instructions for battery-operated items, toys, electronics, heavy machinery… one wrong word could put lives in danger.
Don’t take the risk: contact Active Languages and we’ll get you back on your feet in no time.
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