Important Considerations for Hiring Language Service Providers

As the global healthcare sector expands, language service providers are the cornerstone of offering accurate and compliant translations for your participants, and as such, they form an essential part of your research process. Without qualified and experienced language service providers for your clinical trial, your participants will not be able to gain a full understanding of important documents, such as consent and right to withdraw forms, and this can decrease the validity of your findings.

Another consequence of hiring inexperienced and unqualified language service providers is the cost. Clinical trials can cost upwards of $4 million, and using language service providers who are ineffective can mean delays in your clinical trial, or even having to restart the trial altogether. We also must consider the cost of medical advancements. Inaccurate clinical trial translations can have a negative impact on the progress of your research, as well as the overall veracity of it, which could put people’s lives at risk. Even the most minor of errors in medical translation can have widespread consequences.

Maintaining high standards of accuracy and compliance in clinical trial research is therefore paramount to adhering to ethical and confidentiality standards, as well as ensuring the accuracy and validity of your research. This article will discuss the important considerations for hiring language service providers for your research.

Appropriate Experience

A common mistake regarding hiring language service providers for a clinical trial is not verifying their experience. In the US, over 350 languages are spoken, and each of them has its own complexities, possessing certain nuances that are not present in other languages. The linguistic diversity of the country means that any translations used in medical trials must take linguistic and cultural differences into account, and this must be verified.

In addition, language service providers must also have appropriate experience in translating medical terms, particularly in specialized areas, such as oncology and neurology. Without possessing appropriate experience in either facet could have a negative impact on the accuracy of translations, and therefore, the accuracy of research findings.

Affiliations and Certifications

A crucial consideration in selecting language service providers for a clinical trial is verifying they have the appropriate affiliations and certifications to provide accurate and compliant translations.

• American Translators Association. This certification showcases objective evidence that the medical translators in question possess the essential skills to carry out your clinical trial translations with quality.

• Association of Language Companies. Language service providers being members of the ALC demonstrates their commitment to the continued positive development of language service providers across all sectors.

• ISO certification. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an independent body that recognizes companies that provide services that offer quality and consistency as standard. A language service provider that is ISO certified ensures that the translations being provided to assist with your research have the capability to provide excellence.

It could be a costly mistake to hire a language service provider without these certifications and affiliations.

Data Handling

Portals are often utilized so clients and language service providers can share documents. However, this portal must have security features to ensure any shared data is safe, as a breach of confidentiality could result in legal action.

Furthermore, an ineffective portal can mean that further costs are incurred when attempting to maintain effective communication between all parties. A language service provider’s portal can drastically reduce errors and misunderstandings, particularly for projects at scale. Thus, the portal must suitably fulfill the needs of your research and team.

Quality Assurance

While hiring a qualified and experienced language service provider for your clinical trial is fundamental to achieving accurate translations, these medical translations also need to be passed through multiple quality checks to ensure accuracy is maintained. It is therefore crucial that before hiring a language service provider you inquire what their process of quality assurance is.

DTS Language Services – Clinical Trial Translation Specialists

Quality in clinical trial translations should be prioritized, and as the importance of medical research grows, medical translations should not be compromised. Therefore, when selecting a language service provider for your clinical trial, it’s important to select one with a proven record of translation capability and who is able to translate the most complex of specialized terminology. DTS Language Services, with over 50 years of experience providing clinical trial translation, is well-equipped to meet and exceed what researchers should expect from language service providers.

ISO-certified, DTS Language Services is positioned to provide accurate translations of medical language for the crucial advancement of medicine. If you need expert translation services for your research, contact DTS Language Services today.