In a legal text a lawyer will notice a flaw sooner or later. In a marketing text, the reader will. In a medical document nobody notices the error until a doctor makes a decision based on it, because the patient does not understand the terminology and the translator does not understand the medicine.
So in this field the only reliable approach is for translation and checking to be done by two different people, both familiar with the field. Below we show where the errors really hide.
Where a medical translation can go wrong
Four typical places we meet most often in practice.
Severity grades
Mild, moderate, severe. These are clinical categories, not a stylistic nuance. Mixing them up or "softening" them directly changes how a doctor perceives the urgency of the case.
Abbreviations
The same abbreviation means different things in different contexts, and a Georgian discharge summary often uses Russian or Latin abbreviations. Decoding them takes an understanding of the context, not a dictionary.
Negation and negative findings
The most dangerous one-word error. "No pathology was found" and "pathology was found" differ by one word and are the opposite diagnosis. Exactly these places are checked separately.
Our rule is simple: a medical document goes only to a translator with a medical profile, and the editing stage is mandatory regardless of volume. It adds a day to the deadline - and that day is not negotiable.
All four have one thing in common: even after the error the text is grammatically flawless and reads easily. Nothing "raises suspicion". That is exactly why a medical translation cannot be checked by reading it.
Which medical documents are translated most often
Form 100. An extract on the state of health, with the medical history. The most common document for treatment abroad and for visa procedures. Discharge summary. A detailed description of the course of treatment - usually the longest and most terminology-dense document in the whole package. Laboratory and imaging results. Blood tests and written MRI, CT and X-ray reports. It is critical that reference ranges come over together with the results - without them a figure is meaningless to a doctor. Histology and biopsy. The most important document in oncology cases. Every term here belongs to a specific classification, and free translation is not allowed. Pharmaceutical instructions and prescriptions. Dosage, regimen, side effects, contraindications. Clinical trial documentation. Protocols, informed consent forms, scientific papers. This is a separate sub-field with its own strict terminology.Why machine translation does not work here
Machine translation has genuinely improved in recent years and is often good enough for general text. In a medical document, though, three fundamental problems remain.
First: context. Medical words often have several meanings that differ radically. Choosing the right one requires understanding the link between the symptoms, the test result and the diagnosis - that is, real medical knowledge. Second: the confident error. A machine never says "I am not sure about this part". It always produces fluent, convincing text - including when it is wrong. A human translator marks the doubtful place and clarifies it. Third: confidentiality. Text uploaded to a public AI service ends up in the provider's infrastructure and, under some services' terms, even in further model training. With a patient's diagnosis this is a breach of confidentiality in itself - completely regardless of whether the translation came out right.That is why TARGMANEBI does not send the content of a client's document to artificial intelligence systems and does not use AI for translation. This is written into our confidentiality policy, and the whole process is done by people.
Confidentiality and ethics
Health information is a special category of personal data. A medical document contains the diagnosis, the personal number and often the family history - information the patient sometimes has not shared even with people close to them.
In practice this means that only the three people working on the order have access to the document - the manager, the medical-profile translator and the editor. Other translators, other clients, third parties - nobody.
Every translator we work with is bound by a confidentiality obligation, and breaching it is an unconditional ground for ending the cooperation. Where needed - for example when a clinic or insurance company asks - we sign a separate NDA.
Working files are kept for at most one month after the service is completed and then deleted. If you want a file deleted sooner, just write to us and we will delete it.
Two directions - and why they differ
Medical translation splits into two directions, each with its own difficulty.
From Georgian into a foreign language - when the patient is going abroad for treatment. The main challenge here is the particular features of Georgian medical records: handwritten notes, abbreviations, classifications left over from the Soviet period and terms that need a modern international equivalent. Often one Georgian term covers several modern categories, and choosing correctly requires context. From a foreign language into Georgian - when the patient comes back. Here the text is usually better structured, but another task appears: a Georgian doctor has to continue the treatment. That means prescriptions, doses, follow-up dates and international drug names must be absolutely clear. A drug's trade name differs from country to country, so the name of the active substance always keeps its original form.A third, rarer but hardest case is from one foreign language into another - for example a Turkish discharge summary for a German clinic, when the patient continues treatment in another country. Such an order goes only to a translator with a high level in both languages, and an editor is always added.
How a medical order works with us
Document and purpose
Send a photo or PDF and say who it is for: a foreign clinic, an insurer, a Georgian doctor or an office. This decides both the language and the required form of certification.
A medical-profile translator
The document goes to a translator who works in this field. If you have several documents, one person does them all so they see the whole history.
The mandatory editing stage
The editor checks terminology, doses, units, reference ranges, dates, the anatomical side and negative forms - one by one, against the original.
Delivery in the required form
The file by email or WhatsApp. If an insurer or office needs notarization or an apostille, we handle that too and tell you the deadline in advance.
Need a medical document translated? Send a photo and tell us who it is for - we will tell you the language, form and deadline. The consultation is free.
Call: 501 113 200Frequently asked questions
Will AI translate my discharge summary?
No. We never send the content of a client's document to artificial intelligence systems and do not use AI for translation. The whole process is done by people: a medical-profile translator translates, an editor checks. For a medical document, uploading it to a public AI service would in itself be a breach of confidentiality.
Why will an ordinary translator not do?
Because a medical error does not show in the text. A good general translator will write perfectly fluent Georgian or English and may at the same time get a unit, an abbreviation or a severity grade wrong. Only someone who understands the field can spot such an error.
How long does it take?
Test results and short reports usually the same or the next day. Form 100 and discharge summaries one or two working days. A long medical history depends on volume. We never skip the editing stage, even for urgent orders, so we do not promise "within an hour" for a medical document.
There is a mistake in the original. Will you correct it in the translation?
No. The translation reflects the original exactly, including its inaccuracies - otherwise the documents would not match. If we notice an obvious mistake in the original - for example a clearly unrealistic dose or date - we tell you before delivery so you can check with the clinic.
Does a medical document need notarization?
Usually not for a consultation with a doctor - the clinic needs information, not formal confirmation. For an insurance company, a state office or a court case - almost always yes, and often an apostille too. Tell us who it is for and we will tell you exactly.
Who will learn my diagnosis?
Only the three people working on your order: the manager, the translator and the editor. If notarization is needed, also the notary, who is obliged to see the document. Nobody else. The working file is kept for at most one month and then deleted - or sooner if you ask.