invitation to the survey about the use of medical terminology tools Thread poster: Kaspars Melkis
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Kaspars Melkis 
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:14
English to Latvian
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Hello everyone,
In my medical translation practice I have noticed certain difficulties with the use of medical terminology that are required by my clients. I want to better understand the issues and see if other translators also have problems with the efficient use of medical terminology tools.
I want to make a short presentation at the conference and I need to collect responses from medical translators. Therefore I invite everyone to fill out a short survey that you ca... See more Hello everyone,
In my medical translation practice I have noticed certain difficulties with the use of medical terminology that are required by my clients. I want to better understand the issues and see if other translators also have problems with the efficient use of medical terminology tools.
I want to make a short presentation at the conference and I need to collect responses from medical translators. Therefore I invite everyone to fill out a short survey that you can access at the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfOUfWWkenblzxwPiqhh8wAEgR2rFtnAPc61SPRz_fGekQ8tQ/viewform
Alternatively we can discuss any issues with medical terminology tools here. Thank you for your support. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Adieu
Ukrainian to English
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| Quite relevant | Sep 2, 2022 |
TRULY good tools, especially ones that cover abbreviations, are very rare.
More often than not, it's a cumbersome slog through search engines to decrypt the abbreviation (+medical or +clinical helps a bit, but you still often get mostly unrelated hits or results in the wrong language), then a second step to find the full length translation, then a third step to verify the way to abbreviate it.
It gets even more fun when it is handwritten in trademark "doctor scrawl" and... See more TRULY good tools, especially ones that cover abbreviations, are very rare.
More often than not, it's a cumbersome slog through search engines to decrypt the abbreviation (+medical or +clinical helps a bit, but you still often get mostly unrelated hits or results in the wrong language), then a second step to find the full length translation, then a third step to verify the way to abbreviate it.
It gets even more fun when it is handwritten in trademark "doctor scrawl" and you are forced to check multiple possible "readings" to find something.
A standalone app would be lovely. I would pay for a good one. ▲ Collapse
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Good luck with your presentation...
Elif
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Kaspars Melkis
United Kingdom
Local time: 00:14
English to Latvian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Thanks to those who already filled out the survey | Sep 5, 2022 |
Recently MedDRA had added support for the Latvian language dictionary and it had become mandatory for EMA translations. The only problem is that MedDRA has a subscription model. Pharma companies have subscriptions, some libraries and hospitals make it available too but no subscriptions are available to individuals. As most translators are freelancers I wonder how they actually use MedDRA database.
One client sends me an exported Excel file with all the terms. As there are about 90,0... See more Recently MedDRA had added support for the Latvian language dictionary and it had become mandatory for EMA translations. The only problem is that MedDRA has a subscription model. Pharma companies have subscriptions, some libraries and hospitals make it available too but no subscriptions are available to individuals. As most translators are freelancers I wonder how they actually use MedDRA database.
One client sends me an exported Excel file with all the terms. As there are about 90,000 entries, this is very inconvenient when you need hundreds of terms properly translated or checked in an average drug information document.
I decided to do this survey to understand if other translators have the same problem. The preliminary results are quite interesting and unexpected.
Only 50% reported that they are required to use any specific source. Clearly medical translations are very wide field and not all texts are regulated. Nevertheless, it is good to use a standard terminology in all cases. The point is that many conditions in medicine can be called by different names. The consistent use can improve communication even between medical professionals, improve readability and make clinical studies more comparable between countries.
Surprisingly large number of translators (50%) still use paper dictionaries. I am also one of them because the best electronic glossaries do not cover everything. I am trying to scan and digitalize my paper sources to make it easier to search through them but it is a slow and costly process.
The most common source was online (60%). Also most translators (40%) express preference to online sources. I am divided on this issue because I find local software faster and more convenient than online services. On the other hand clients tend to prefer online systems as they are easier to manage and update. It is important that those online tools are developed with usability in mind and are fast and efficient.
Integrated dictionaries were in a second place (55%). I personally think that they are most convenient. The problem with those tools is that increasingly I am not able to use CAT tools (for example, when updating text with track changes) and Microsoft Word does not have such integration. I wonder if it would be possible to make add-on for word that would allow to lookup the translation of any term without leaving Word?
Only 10% use and prefer a standalone tool. I am personally found of this option because they usually are very fast. When using Word it is the best option compared to online. I suspect that it is not popular because it requires technical skills which most of us have no time or desire to acquire.
Only 15% were happy with the tools that we currently have, 35% wanted some improvements, 15% wanted major improvements and 5% wanted completely different tools with 20% who don't use any tools. This confirms my idea that I am not alone struggling to find an optimal way to integrate medical terminology tools in translation process.
[Edited at 2022-09-05 15:12 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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