Medical translation services focus on the translation of texts related to the medical or sanitary field and its different specialties. In general, we can distinguish two types of texts within medical translation: informative texts and specialized texts. The main difference between the two is the target audience, an aspect that influences their degree of specialization. However, although there are different typologies within this field of translation, it is necessary for the person in charge of the translation to have the highest level of specialization possible in order to guarantee the terminological quality of the translation. It is vital to have professionals in the world of translation, as public and individual health often depend on the translation of these texts.

There are many reasons why translation of medical texts is important. Firstly, health is a fundamental element. In the words of the Constitution of the   World Health Organization, the “enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being “, therefore, language should not be a barrier to accessing health systems or health-related knowledge. to health systems or health-related knowledge. Therefore, the translation of medical texts is very necessary to reach these places, translation of medical texts is therefore very necessary to reach these places and provide access to and provide access to those groups for whom language is an obstacle.

On the other hand, we must not forget the international cooperation that exists within the world of medicine. Many countries have many researchers whose contributions, findings and results are often written or communicated in their mother tongue or in English. Because of this, translation of such documents is key to the dissemination of scientific advances and to achieving a wider scientific advances and to achieve a wider reach.

A good example of the latter can be found during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the beginning of the health crisis, as the most affected region was China, reports and research on the virus were written in Mandarin Chinese. Therefore, specialised translators were needed to facilitate access to this crucial information.

Another area where medical translation is needed is the dissemination of protocols or materials that facilitate the implementation of theoretical medical knowledge. The instructions included in such documents are very precise and detailed and, therefore, their translation has to maintain the same level of accuracy, a simple translation error could have fatal consequences.

Finally, it is important to mention again the World Health Organisation, which has made multilingualism a policy and has six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish and French. This implies that all documents must be accessible in these languages.