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15 Oct Benefits of back translation in the drug industry

Back translation is not a very common concept used in the translation field, but it highly increases quality to the project. In this procedure, a professional translator interprets a document previously translated into another language back to the original one. It is made by a translator who is unaware of the context or have not been previously involved into for avoiding any interference because, when translating, some information is always missed.

Back translation focuses on special considerations and sensitive problems across cultures as any detail is carefully watched. It implies a new professional review and, in some translation fields – such as the drug industry translation – back translation additionally represents the icing on the cake. Back translations could also be defined like kind of the «Chinese whispers» game, but aiming no misunderstandings at all.

Drug industry translation has some special features and has to be very precise. For example, paying attention to vocabulary, simple words as «dose» and «dosage» or «adverse effect», «adverse event» and «adverse reaction» are commonly wrongly back translated. They are similar but do not mean the same, so it could easily presuppose a completely misleading. Additionally, some continental languages – as Spanish – have a smaller vocabulary than English, which implies an unavoidable loss of information.

A synonym would slightly change the meaning or even completely alter the sense. So overdoses, counter-indications or side effects might be wrongly interpreted having an impact on health.

Drug industry translation is aware of this scenario so, for avoiding any possible mislead, is little by little starting to use this procedure. Of course, costs increase because more people take part into the translation project, but it is also much safer for patients as information remains exact, clear, and with no ambiguities.

Thanks to back translation in drug industry translation, patient information leaflets, counter-indications of medicaments, and any drug or medical brochure may offer a quality text regarding to its originals; which directly or indirectly have a positive healthy impact on the patient.

Post written by: Rubén