"I just assumed that it would translate": examining MT risk awareness among healthcare staff with abbreviations as a use case

arXiv:2610.02496v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: In the UK, public healthcare staff report turning to machine translation (MT) - predominantly Google Translate (GT) - to communicate with patients across language barriers. Though intended to support their duty of care, potentially uninformed reliance on MT in such contexts could have serious consequences for patient safety. Research nonetheless remains limited on staff awareness of the possible risks posed by higher-stakes MT use in general and with patient medical records in particular, most existing literature instead examining its use in interpersonal situations or with patient-oriented documentation. Moreover, medical abbreviations are well-documented as increasing patient risk even monolingually, with outcomes from their misuse and/or misinterpretation ranging from temporary harm to the death of the patient. Abbreviations were therefore selected as a use case for identifying the potential risks posed by their translation with MT. Contextualised French and Spanish data examples drawn from authoritative clinical corpora and translated via GT were presented during semi-structured interviews to 21 healthcare staff participants in diverse roles and specialties. The results were then subject to qualitative analysis and cross-analysis.

Abstract:In the UK, public healthcare staff report turning to machine translation (MT) - predominantly Google Translate (GT) - to communicate with patients across language barriers. Though intended to support their duty of care, potentially uninformed reliance on MT in such contexts could have serious consequences for patient safety. Research nonetheless remains limited on staff awareness of the possible risks posed by higher-stakes MT use in general and with patient medical records in particular, most existing literature instead examining its use in interpersonal situations or with patient-oriented documentation. Moreover, medical abbreviations are well-documented as increasing patient risk even monolingually, with outcomes from their misuse and/or misinterpretation ranging from temporary harm to the death of the patient. Abbreviations were therefore selected as a use case for identifying the potential risks posed by their translation with MT. Contextualised French and Spanish data examples drawn from authoritative clinical corpora and translated via GT were presented during semi-structured interviews to 21 healthcare staff participants in diverse roles and specialties. The results were then subject to qualitative analysis and cross-analysis.

Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)

arXiv:2610.02496 [cs.AI]

(or arXiv:2610.02496v1 [cs.AI] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.02496 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.

Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.

Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

aiqbench analysis

"I just assumed that it would translate": examining MT risk awareness among healthcare staff with abbreviations as a use case

Related coverage