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Instructions For Prescription Drugs Are Too Often Misunderstood
America's Pharmacist - June, 2003
Nearly one in 10 children whose parents speak English as a second language are given prescription medications incorrectly, according to a survey of about 600 people whose native language was Spanish, Russian, Chinese or Hindi. One third of those respondents have left their doctor's office without being clear about their medications because of a language barrier, the survey found. More than half of the Russian and Spanish speaking participants said they have found prescription drugs "impossible" to fully understand because of language problems.
"Respondents seemed reluctant to make sure they understood their prescriptions with 28 percent guessing at the proper dosage because they were not sure what their prescriptions said" reported TransPerfect Translations, which conducted the survey and provides language services to multinational companies. "Additionally, because they didn't totally understand that there are things that should not be done when taking drugs, 17 percent performed an activity they shouldn't have while on their medication".
About TransPerfect
TransPerfect is a diversified family of companies providing a full array of international communication services in 22 offices worldwide, including document management, translation, and staffing solutions. TransPerfect is ISO 9001:2000 certified which means it has implemented the most rigorous quality assurance process, according to criteria set forth by the International Organization for Standardization. The wide range of services it provides includes imaging, reprographic services, electronic data discovery, multilingual OCR, electronic labeling, coding, on-site imaging and copying, as well as staffing, and a full suite of translation and interpretation solutions. Headquarters are in New York City.
