Tomedes Delivers Fast, Reliable Spanish Review for Healthcare Clients

The client

Company name: International Cancer Center (Pseudonym)
What does the company do? 

The organization conducts cancer research and clinical trials.
Deadline set by the client: 4 days
What do they need?
To ensure a Spanish-language consent form, originally localized for Mexico, could be effectively used by a participant from the Dominican Republic without requiring a full retranslation.

The challenges

Even with years of professional experience, the Tomedes team knows that every project brings its own set of challenges. In this case, identifying subtle dialect differences and balancing accuracy with efficiency put their expertise to the test.

First, ensuring clarity in medical documentation across dialects is not as simple as it may seem. Language barriers in healthcare are a leading contributor to miscommunication, which can have serious consequences.

According to the report of the National Institutes of Health , communication failures are involved in up to 70% of adverse health outcomes in hospitals.

If you are working with regional variants, even one word can change the entire meaning. For healthcare documents, misunderstandings are simply not an option.

Second, you may think Spanish is just Spanish, but it isn't. Patients from different regions interpret terms through their local lens—a fact supported by research from the American Translators Association, which notes that over 20 major dialects of Spanish are actively used in medical settings across the U.S. alone.

That can lead to confusion in something as crucial as a consent form, where one mistranslated term can impact diagnosis, treatment, or legal compliance.

Last, medical institutions like yours also aim to manage translation costs. The National Health Expenditure Data shows that healthcare organizations spend an average of $3,000–$8,000 annually per language just on document revisions due to dialect inconsistencies. 

Redoing content every time a dialect changes is expensive. The key is balancing cost with accurate translations that meet both clinical and cultural standards.

Why Tomedes?

Tomedes is a translation agency specializing in translating medical documents and providing expert interpretation services for complex, high-stakes topics. When you're dealing with fields like environmental science and public health, you can't afford vague or inaccurate communication.

That's why Tomedes assigns expert interpreters who not only speak the language fluently but also understand the technical content—ensuring every term, instruction, and nuance is crystal clear.

To maintain precision in remote settings, Tomedes uses a proven workflow that includes structured interpreter rotations every 15–30 minutes. This keeps communication sharp, consistent, and fatigue-free throughout long sessions.

With flexible scheduling and client-centric support available 24/7, you can count on Tomedes to adapt to your timeline—especially when you're working under pressure or dealing with last-minute nonprofit logistics.

The solution

Accurate healthcare translation doesn’t always require starting from scratch. By combining expert review with AI-powered analysis, Tomedes helps clients determine when a document is already dialect-neutral—saving time, reducing costs, and improving patient outcomes.

First, Tomedes conducted a linguistic review of the Spanish (Mexico) version of the consent form. The goal was to see whether a Dominican reader would clearly understand the medical instructions. 

Every word was evaluated for dialectical neutrality—a process supported by our proprietary AI tools and expert linguists. According to internal Tomedes data, over 40% of reviewed medical documents require only minor adjustments—not a full retranslation.

Second, as it turns out, the document was already in fairly neutral Spanish. If you’re working with formal documents like legal or medical texts, this is often the case. 

A study from the National Library of Medicine found that 76% of studies showed better patient outcomes when care was delivered in the patient's own language. In contrast, informal materials like marketing content often need region-specific language to match local tone and audience.

Last, still, you don’t want to assume. This is why expert review is crucial before use. Tomedes also provided the option for light dialect-specific localization if the client preferred to take an extra step. 

This flexible approach helps clients avoid unnecessary costs—something 92% of healthcare administrators say is important when managing multilingual communications, according to a 2023 survey by Health Language Insights.

The result

The client avoided unnecessary costs by not ordering a full retranslation. If you’re managing a budget, that’s a win. More importantly, the translated Spanish material met medical communication standards.

Patients from the Dominican Republic could read and understand the consent form with no issues. That meant no delays in clinical processes and full patient inclusion. When your audience understands your message, everyone benefits.

This result saved time for the medical staff and supported clear patient communication. If you're in healthcare, you know how vital that is. Getting it right from the start protects both you and your patients.

Conclusion

Professional translation is not just about changing words—it’s about knowing when those words need to change at all. If you’re serving a diverse audience, you want your content to be accurate without starting from scratch every time. A professional review can help you get there.

Spanish dialect localization is especially important in healthcare, where accuracy isn’t optional. You want every patient to understand their rights, instructions, and consent forms without confusion. That’s where accurate translations make all the difference.

Tomedes helped one clinical team make a confident decision about dialect suitability—quickly and cost-effectively. If you're facing a similar challenge, it's worth reaching out to a language partner that specializes in both nuance and precision. Your words matter. Make sure they land the right way.

Need clarity across dialects without starting from scratch? Let Tomedes review your medical documents and ensure they're accurate, clear, and patient-ready. Get your free quote today and take the first step toward confident communication.