Healthcare Translation Services

Effective communication is key to empowering your patients and members and to ensuring that they play an active role in their healthcare and make informed medical decisions. By speaking to them in a language that they understand, you engage and retain members and improve patient outcomes. Avantpage’s specialization in healthcare translation services and medical interpreting enables our clients to provide truly person-centered care.

 Whether you’re a hospital looking to improve your patient communication and outreach or a health plan needing to update your provider directories and annual notices, we have specialized teams to help.

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We’ve Got You Covered

Health insurance organizations, hospital systems, and medical offices around the country rely on Avantpage for the following:

Avantpage is ISO certified (ISO 9001 for Quality Management Systems and ISO 17100 for Translation Services) and has robust quality processes.
We protect PHI every step of the way, with PHI masking technology, trained staff, and US-based systems.
Our linguists are selected based on their terminology expertise and their knowledge of the communities they are translating for.
We lower overheads and save costs with our automated workflows, advanced technologies, and user-friendly client portal.
We stay up-to-date with changing regulations and work with you to meet mandated deadlines and other requirements.

Supporting Whole Person Care

From hospitals and clinics to health plans and life sciences organizations, clients like you have been trusting Avantpage for three decades. When you work with us to offer language services to your patients, members, and consumers, you provide a higher quality of care to all, regardless of cultural background and English proficiency.

Hospitals and Clinics:
Enhancing the Patient Experience

As a healthcare provider, you know that clear communication is key to improving patient health outcomes, lowering readmission rates, and offering equitable, patient-centered care. To fully extend this level of communication to your limited-English proficient patients, you must provide translation and interpreting services. In a hospital or clinical setting, help your patients make informed decisions about their care by providing the following services.

Health Plans and Insurance:
Member Growth and Retention

To grow and retain your member base, you must provide clear, comprehensive communication to all members. Translation and interpreting services are one important way to ensure that your limited-English proficient members receive the same level of communication as anyone else. Many health plan document types are subject to regulations that dictate short turnaround times or alternative formats. We have purpose-built workflows to accommodate this and can print and mail these documents as required.

Public Health Organizations:
Engaging Your Community

Public health organizations and government agencies work closely with Avantpage to promote outreach and engagement among LEP communities. By translating critical public health information into plain, accessible language, you ensure that every individual is informed, no matter what language they speak. This is more important than ever during a public health crisis. Connect with your most vulnerable communities by ensuring that these important communications are translated and shared in a timely manner.

Written Translation Services

Ensure all patients fully understand their medical needs by translating written content such as after-visit summaries, care instructions, admission and discharge forms, educational brochures, administrative paperwork, and your website or patient portal.

Remote Interpreting Services

Our HIPAA-compliant interpreting platform connects you to a specialized healthcare linguist in a matter of seconds. Our phone and video interpreters help you accurately convey information to an LEP patient and ensure that they fully understand the information before they leave the facility.

Harnessing Technology For You

Our healthcare clients need translation projects delivered on budget and within short time frames. To meet this need without compromising on quality, we leverage our proprietary technologies to produce fast, accurate translations in a highly secure environment. The following tools support our medical translators and interpreters and ensure the highest quality possible. Our suite of tools is 100% HIPAA-compliant and human linguists are involved at every step of the way.

CLIENT PORTAL: EVERYTHING IN ONE PLACE

With our secure client portal, AvantPortal, your staff can request quotes, view past and current projects, write project instructions, contact your project manager, and view invoices and reports in one place. AvantPortal makes it quick and easy to manage your entire service with Avantpage.

INTERPRETING PLATFORM: ROUND-THE-CLOCK SUPPORT

AvantInterpret is our on-demand remote interpreting platform. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, you can use it to reach a wide network of medical interpreters within seconds. AvantInterpret offers phone, video, and sign language interpreting in one secure platform.

TRANSLATION MEMORY: INCREASING QUALITY AND SAVING MONEY

AvantMemory is our in-house translation memory tool. We create a memory bank of previous translations that is unique to your organization. Leveraging this shortens turnaround times, increases consistency across projects, and reduces the cost of your translations.

DATA ANONYMIZATION: KEEPING YOU HIPAA COMPLIANT

Our AvantShield technology protects sensitive patient data by masking PHI before translators access a file and ensuring that it does not get saved in our systems. This ensures data protection and HIPAA compliance throughout the translation process.

Client Testimonials

“Your dedicated team of skilled interpreters, led by your exceptional project manager, played an indispensable role in helping CPEHN address this pressing need at our event. By ensuring that our limited English-speaking audience could fully participate and enjoy the conference, you made it abundantly clear that this event was designed with them in mind.” – Vincent Chou, Community Advocacy Manager

"I have used Avantpage’s translation services for several years, and they always exceed my expectations (and those of my clients). When working with a client like Wells Fargo, who expects jobs to be done correctly the first time, I cannot partner with any suppliers who are not able to meet that standard. Avantpage does a great job, every time." – Jakob Marketing Partners

“It was a distinct pleasure working with the team at Avantpage Translations in preparation for their ISO 9001 Certification. Avantpage is a wonderful company with highly skilled professionals who have created a great culture. I highly recommend Avantpage!” – Lee Baker, Consultant, ComplianceHelp

“Working with AvantPage Translations is so much more than a business relationship, it is truly a partnership… Through that partnership, we created a survey that includes 17 languages (including American Sign Language)… In the end, we delivered a top of class survey that received praise across the state…” – Anthony Campbell, Ph.D., The Athena Group

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Advancing Science For All

If you need healthcare translation services for clinical trials, medical devices, biotech, pharmaceuticals, and more, Avantpage Life Sciences is here to help. Companies that work with us are able to bring their health innovations to diverse audiences around the world, ensuring that everyone has access to advances in science and medicine.

Our broad capabilities, specialized experience, and deep understanding of how your industry works makes us your safe choice in life sciences—visit our dedicated Avantpage Life Science website to learn more.

Avantpage Life Sciences

Quality You Can Trust

The quality of the language support you offer your patients and members directly impacts their health outcomes and experience with your organization. Quality is also at the heart of our healthcare translation and interpreting services. We know that the stakes are high when it comes to medical information and that this is a priority for your organization.

Partnering with us means you’ll receive healthcare translations that are linguistically precise, culturally appropriate, consistent, and tailored to your needs. Our team brings decades of experience to the table, and we’re proud to offer high-quality translations that meet your needs as a healthcare provider.

Quality begins with a rigorous recruitment process — we thoroughly vet the linguists we work with, and have a dedicated team of quality assurance professionals who ensure that every translation meets your high standards. But you don’t have to take our word for it: our quality assurance processes have been vetted and are confirmed by our ISO certifications, ISO 9001 for Quality Management Systems and ISO 17100 for Translation Services.

Unsure when to choose phone, video, or in-person interpreting?

Our guide explains how language access impacts health equity, breaking down the differences between interpreting methods, and offering best practices to help your team make informed decisions.

get the guidE

Frequently Asked Questions About Healthcare Translation Services

Why are healthcare translation and interpretation services essential?

Accurate communication is critical to patient care. For patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) or who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, language access ensures they receive equitable treatment and can make informed decisions. Providing professional interpreters or document translation improves health outcomes and supports compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other regulations.

What is the difference between medical translation and interpretation?

Document translation involves converting written medical documents such as discharge instructions, consent forms, or pharmacy labels into another language. Medical interpretation services, on the other hand, involve real-time verbal communication between patients and providers. Interpretation can be delivered through on-site interpretation, video remote interpretation (VRI), or over-the-phone (OPI) and phone interpretation options.

Why can’t we rely on family members to interpret?

While well-meaning, family members often lack the training to understand medical terminology or maintain confidentiality. Using qualified interpreters helps avoid errors, improves patient satisfaction, and aligns with best practices and legal requirements under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the ACA.

What types of medical interpretation services are available?

We provide a full suite of interpretation options tailored to your facility’s needs, including:

1. In-person interpretation for complex or sensitive conversations
2. Over-the-phone interpretation for quick or routine communications
3. Video Remote Interpretation (VRI) for visual connection without physical presence
4. American Sign Language (ASL) services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

These services help eliminate language barriers and support smooth communication across departments.

How can translation services help in telehealth?

In the age of telehealth, providing accessible language services is more important than ever. Video remote interpretation and translated digital materials help LEP patients fully engage with their care, regardless of where they are located. Learn more about facilitating equitable healthcare through telehealth.

What types of medical documents do you translate?

Our team handles a variety of medical documents, including:

– Patient intake forms
– Consent forms
– Treatment plans
– Discharge instructions
– Pharmacy materials
– Insurance and billing documents

We ensure that all translations are culturally appropriate and medically accurate.

What are language access plans, and do we need one?

A language access plan is a formal strategy for providing language services in your healthcare facility. It helps identify LEP populations, select the right language services provider, and ensure compliance with federal requirements. Having a clear plan improves communication, reduces liability, and increases trust with the communities you serve.

How do you ensure quality and accuracy in interpretation?

We work with qualified interpreters trained in healthcare protocols and medical terminology. Our interpreters undergo rigorous screening and continuing education to deliver safe and effective communication in clinical settings.

Do pharmacies and outpatient clinics need interpretation services?

Yes. Pharmacies, outpatient clinics, and smaller healthcare facilities also benefit from language support. Ensuring patients understand their medications and treatment instructions is critical for health outcomes and safety.