Doctors are cautioned against using Google Translate in consultations

Doctors should not use Google Translate in consultations with patients because of the risk of introducing communication errors, medical defence organisations have said.

Last month The BMJ reported that researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine had found that doctors were using Google Translate to overcome language barriers in consultations.1

“We would recommend extreme caution in using, and relying on, computer translation in everyday clinical practice,” said Naeem Nazem, medical adviser to the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland. “In usual clinical practice, the risks of using computer translations, in the presence of validated alternatives, is likely to increase the risks …