Poorly Translated Prescriptions Increase Error Risks
A study published in the May issue of the journal Pediatrics says that Spanish-speaking people in the United States are a higher risk of injury from prescription errors, because of poor translation. These errors are occurring in large numbers, because the computer programs that pharmacies rely on to translate prescriptions, are vastly inadequate.
The researchers surveyed several pharmacies in the New York City area. They found that four out of every five pharmacies, depended on computers to translate prescriptions. Almost all of them claimed that they got the prescriptions rechecked manually, but the researchers found far too many errors in translation.
One of the biggest problems was that the computer programs created a mix of Spanish and English labels, creating the possibility of serious errors while reading the labels.
Some of the most frequently mistranslated words and phrases included
• Dropper full
• Apply topically
• For seven days
• For 30 days
• Take with food
• Once a day
Part of the problem is that it's hard to develop computer systems that translate from English to Spanish perfectly. There's only so much a computer program can do, and for non-Spanish-speaking pharmacists, translating the prescription becomes next to impossible.
The researchers recommend a few steps to deal with this problem.
First, pharmacies could hire bilingual pharmacists who can explain prescriptions more accurately than a computer program can.
Technology must be improved to the point where the translation software makes fewer errors.
As an Atlanta prescription error lawyer, I believe that the first approach is likely to be more successful in preventing prescription errors. However, it would take a lot more than a study to encourage pharmacies to hire more Spanish-speaking staff. In the meantime, I would advise Spanish-speaking persons to take someone along who speaks the language, and can translate the prescription for them.
