Role of Project Management in Medical Translation Quality

By: Eric Nelson Posted on Fri, 06-10-2023

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How Project Management Retains Accuracy and Quality in the Medical Translation?

The project management in the translation generally works as a fuel and backbone of the whole process. It refers to the framework and a streamlined operational procedure of a translation and localization project. According to translation management, a project manager is usually put in charge of managing and orchestrating the whole project. The project managers are responsible for the planning and working through the completion, and delivery. When it comes to project management in the medical backdrop it plays a vital role in quality translation. It ascertains that they coordinate the project well and also complete it in a timely manner. There are many medical companies that do not realize the need for project management and prefer to save some bucks. However, according to experts project management and allocating an exclusive project manager plays a vital role in the seamless delivery of quality medical content.

Everyone wants to enjoy good mental and physical health. The human anatomy is the same despite all the regional boundaries and countries. People get to experience similar diseases and illnesses. Project management involves and thus deals with the medical translation that can facilitate people all over the world regardless of their ethnicity and identity.

Therefore, here are a few factors that elaborate on how project management helps throughout the process. These factors further discuss the exposure to how it can help to deliver quality, accuracy, and consistency in medical translation.

1. Defining Project Goals and Scope

Defining Project Goals and Scope

The success of medical translation depends on the way they handle and function the process of translation. The first step in any project is to define the project goals and scope. Medical companies need to sit with their translation vendors to work on it. They also need to know how project management helps in the medical translation process. Project managers working on medical translation projects must understand the needs of their clients, the target audience, and the purpose of the translation. It is significant that they know the purpose and motive of translation. Project management is important to make both parties realize what they are going to indulge in. Also, defining project goals and scope helps to ensure that the translation meets the intended purpose and is completed within the given timeframe.

2. Selecting the Right Team

Selecting the Right Team

A right translation vendor can do wonders whereas an incompetent translation partner can ruin all efforts. It is particularly important for the medical translation that the right translation team is on board to ensure there are no mistakes in the original medical content and that there are no errors in the translated text. Project management brings people all over the world together for a single cause. Medical translation is the branch of scientific and technical specialization that enables us to bring people together and ensure that there is a safe exchange of information. Therefore, the selection of the right team is the foundation of quality content. Medical translation requires meeting the needs including communication and covering the disciplines of medicine, pediatrics, endocrinology, cardiology, and gynecology with much more.

Medical translation requires specialized knowledge and expertise in both the medical and language fields. Project managers must select the right team of translators, editors, and proofreaders who have experience in medical translation and are familiar with specific medical terminology. This helps to ensure that the translation is accurate, culturally appropriate, and meets the intended purpose.

3. Analyzing the Original Text

Analyzing the Original Text

It is important to analyze the original text and project management helps to do that in the healthcare backdrop. As the PM team has prior experience in a similar field, they can analyze it in the light of their experiences and knowledge. They need to know how it is going to function, the target audience, sectors, and typology. It also includes the communicative situation. This segregation further helps in the selection of the translation team according to the expertise. They also play a vital role in facilitating the allocated translator work.

4. Managing the Translation Process

Managing the Translation Process

The project management has the responsibility of managing the whole translation process of medical text. The team also manages and assigns the resource from start to end. They ensure that they cover all the aspects of the project. They are there in every phase and step to guide their clients, update them, and inform them in case of any problems and errors. Moreover, they also ensure that the translation team does not cause unnecessary delays. This includes setting timelines too. Moreover, they also manage the resources and look for alternatives when needed. They have to monitor the whole process in every possible way to ensure quality and accuracy. This often goes missing otherwise. The medical companies assign the translation task to a particular translation vendor and they complete it their way.

Many times there is no one to monitor and owners of the companies fail to get the errors and issues that may lead to grave consequences. This can be fatal in medical translation. This is why project management is the ultimate solution.

5. Quality Control

Quality Control

Quality control is inevitable in medical translation. As it is a highly specialized field, accuracy is critical. Project managers oversee the quality control process, ensuring that the translation is accurate, adheres to relevant culture, and is according to the requirements. This includes reviewing translations, conducting quality checks, and addressing any issues that arise. Quality can not be promised in the medical text and minor negligence goes a long way often claiming lives too. Therefore, project management helps to confirm that the quality is taken care of.

6. Better Communication

Better Communication

During the process of translation of the pharmaceutical and medical text, there could be times when the translator needs to understand and explain certain terms, and scenarios or he could suffer difficulty to get the context of the translation. During such cases, the project management team arranges meetings between the medical companies’ spokesperson and translation team to ensure that both parties are on the same page and understand the purpose of the content. This way there are no inconsistencies in the translation and there is more accuracy in the final content. Project managers help to communicate effectively with all stakeholders, including clients, translators, editors, proofreaders, and other team members. They bridge the communication gap and certify that everyone is on the same page and that the project is progressing at a smoother pace and will be completed timely and within the communicated budget.

7. Risk Management

Risk Management

Medical translation and projects related to this industry are often complex. There are many incidents that prove how mishandling led to grave consequences and things got upside down. There are indeed risks involved and hence the risk factor needs to be managed effectively throughout the process of translation. These risks can have a negative impact on the project affecting quality and progress. Project managers again, intervene in such situations to identify and manage these risks proactively. They have insight and foresightedness with these problems and hence ensure that any potential issues are addressed before they become serious problems.

8. Budget Management

Budget Management

Budget is everyone’s major concern. Medical companies propose particular budgets for their translation process. Moreover, medical translation is one of the most expensive services for translation. Medical translation projects must be completed within the allocated budget. The project management team ensures that they manage the resources effectively. They monitor the progress and evaluate the progress. They make sure that the project is not delayed, not causing additional expenses, and working within the budget. Furthermore, they also monitor expenses, negotiate contracts, and try to work on cost-effective measures.

9. Technology

Technology

Technology plays a crucial role in medical translation. The advancement in machine translation tools has made it clear that there is no harm in using machine translation tools. These are a great source of bringing consistency in the translation. Project managers can verify that the translation team is using due use of the technology and they are not overusing or relying solely on it for medical translation. Medical translation can not solely depend on machine-produced results. Moreover, they should be proficient with translation technology including translation memory management, and terminology management tools.

10. Project Delivery and Closure

Project Delivery and Closure

A translation project is usually a foundation for a bright future for many people. A number of employees overseas wait anxiously for a smooth translation project to kick out the new business in a new language creating a gateway of opportunities. Therefore, it is extremely vital that a project gets a proper closure and is not mishandled or mistreated. We often witness how they launch hundreds of projects enthusiastically and by the time they reach their end, people lose their interests. It is important that the medical translation project gets a good closure. Once the project is over, the project management teams ensure they deliver it timely and reach their clients with the expected requirements. They also hold the translation team including proofreaders and linguists for the further rectification of errors if any and for the final review. 

Project management hence is significant for a successful, accurate, and precise quality medical translation project. They monitor the whole process, ensure the main factors going at in required pace, and also ensure quality and accuracy. It is important that medical companies realize the need to invest in a project management team as well. They can hire experienced medical translators as their new project managers. It will help them to monitor the project more closely and they can use their expertise to refine the quality of the translation wherever required.

Conclusion

Project management has emerged as an essential component of medical translation lately. A balanced team of project managers is inevitable to ensure that the whole project is coordinated, managed, and completed well within the due timeline and quality. With the implementation of the project management principles, the quality and accuracy of the medical translation can be improved greatly and efficiently. It is also cost-effective and brings good healthcare outcomes ensuring patient safety.