Use of digital translation programs-an evaluation: Do we use them and should we use them?

Background: Due to the increase in globalization and increased global migration tendencies, multilingualism is on the rise. This results in communication problems between physicians and patients. Digital translation programs can be a cost-effective and time-saving alternative. The frequency of use, risks and the legal framework conditions need to be examined.Methods: The DGU trauma network comprises 478 emergency departments throughout Germany. These were contacted and asked to describe their use of digital translation programs by means of a questionnaire. The results were statistically evaluated and correlated with current case law.Results: Of 478 clinics, 103 (21.5%) participated. Digital translation programs are already used in everyday clinical practice by more than 70% of the colleagues surveyed. About 50% have already used digital translation programs for education for non-life threatening surgery. The majority of the colleagues surveyed (87.4%) do not consider themselves to be sufficiently legally protected when providing information to a non-German-speaking patient.Conclusion: With increasingly scarce personnel resources, the use of digital translation programs has become commonplace in everyday clinical practice for communicating with patients who speak foreign languages. The advantages of these translation programs are evident due to their low-threshold availability regardless of the time of day. However, clear legal conditions for their use have not yet been established. Due to the potential for errors in the medical nomenclature of these translation programs and the lack of a legal framework, their use in everyday clinical practice is risky and cannot be recommended at present.     «

Background: Due to the increase in globalization and increased global migration tendencies, multilingualism is on the rise. This results in communication problems between physicians and patients. Digital translation programs can be a cost-effective and time-saving alternative. The frequency of use, risks and the legal framework conditions need to be examined.Methods: The DGU trauma network comprises 478 emergency departments throughout Germany. These were contacted and asked to describe their us...     »