In the United States, an estimated 68 million people speak a language other than English at home, and many have limited English proficiency (LEP). Since medical facilities often have diverse patients and clinical trials need participants from a variety of backgrounds to generate reputable data, patient-reported outcomes translation is often essential. Patient-reported outcomes translation not only ensures accurate data collection, but often enhances patient care and the patient experience. If you’re wondering why patient-reported outcome translation is so essential, here’s what you need to know.
What Are Patient-Reported Outcomes?
Patient-reported outcomes – also referred to as PROs – are reports directly from patients discussing their health in their own words. Essentially, PROs are a mechanism that allows patients to share their personal perspectives on their health, quality of life, symptoms, and any applied treatments. Generally, PROs are a tool for measuring the effectiveness of a particular medical intervention or overall care quality, ensuring the patient’s point of view is factored into the equation.
Clinical trials typically use patient-reported outcomes to capture unique details, such as side effects, symptom improvements, and more, directly from patients during clinical studies. It ensures the patient experience is accurately captured, as the reports don’t include any interpretation from medical professionals.
PROs also provide value to healthcare organizations. It allows medical facilities to gauge the quality of the care offered and determine the overall effectiveness of prescribed treatment regimens. That ensures healthcare providers have opportunities to improve the patient experience.
The Importance of Patient-Reported Outcomes Translation
Ensuring clarity in outcomes translation is essential for properly recording the patient experience. Without effective translation of patient-reported outcomes, it’s possible to lose the core meaning or nuances of what a patient shares. Even slight mistranslations can fundamentally alter a patient’s statements, leading to inaccurate data regarding their experience.
By ensuring quality in patient-reported outcomes translation, clinical trials and healthcare organizations get accurate insights. That can help legitimize and validate clinical trial data and treatment regimen selection, as a culturally sensitive approach leads to a higher degree of correctness. Essentially, it ensures nuances in various languages, dialects, or cultures are factored into the translation process, leading to far greater accuracy.
Language access for outcomes questionnaires is similarly vital. Offering them in patients’ preferred languages ensures that patients completely understand what’s asked. In turn, they’ll have an easier time providing the type of information the healthcare provider or clinical trial requires to gauge treatment effectiveness, monitor quality of life, and ensure patient satisfaction.
Enhancing Patient Care Through Outcomes Translation
PRO translation enhances patient care and the patient experience. There are several ethical considerations in patient-reported outcomes translation. First, accurately capturing what patients share is essential, as mistranslations can lead to inaccurate data and poorer patient experiences. Second, inclusive approaches create opportunities for fairness and equity, both of which are essential.
Translating PROs accurately also shows patients that the clinical trial or healthcare organization values their experience to the point of going the extra mile. It’s just as critical as offering multilingual patient surveys for improved care, as it avoids misunderstandings.
Using a reputable language services provider also ensures that privacy and outcomes translation go hand-in-hand. Trained medical translation professionals understand the need for confidentiality, and they’re prepared to follow all applicable rules, laws, and regulations – including HIPAA and others – to maintain compliance.
Need a Dependable Patient-Reported Outcomes Translation? Turn to Acutrans!
Precision in patient-reported outcomes translation is crucial. Since that’s the case, partnering with an experienced medical language service provider is often the best choice.
If you need accurate PRO translation, Acutrans is an industry-leading solution. Acutrans provides top-quality certified document translations in 24 hours and covers over 300 languages. Additionally, Acutrans has specially designed translation services for the medical sector, ensuring the translation team has the needed foundational knowledge to ensure accuracy. At Acutrans, localization services and post-editing machine translation are also available.
For clinical trial organizations or medical facilities looking for dependable translators, the Acutrans team can address that need. Acutrans covers over 200 languages through its video remote, over-the-phone, and on-site interpretation programs. Plus, Acutrans has interpretation services specifically for the healthcare industry, ensuring the assigned interpreters have the necessary medical knowledge. With Acutrans, patient-reported outcomes translation is convenient, accurate, and affordable. Contact us for a free quote today.