Wider access to medicine (2021)
Contemporary reality and the developments that come with it, evokes sentiments of hope and awe at the same time. The reason being, the numerous signs of progress in the field of Medicine and Pharmaceutics as well as the greater opportunities of patients all over the world. It is a miracle in which the crushing of linguistic differences plays its own undisputed role.
When we say all over the world, we mean, of course, all these people who seek after healthcare in other countries or pursue a chance to have their surgical operation done abroad. However, besides the emergence of more opportunities for patients in the field of healthcare, it is worth noting that informing and briefing nowadays, the incessant conduct of international medical seminars and the collaboration among universities at an international level and the exchange of knowledge that comes with it, all are remarkable. This, much more outward-looking and humanitarian image of Medicine today, leads to an increase in communication among several countries. Of course, the contribution of medical translation has a key role to all of this because it facilitates the accomplishment and consolidation of communication.
To begin with, it is worth reminding that in many cases, patients were compelled to take the road abroad in order to undergo serious surgical operations, critical for their lives. Some of them were successful and some of them were not. However, hope was there and that hope united people in an act of charity, kindness, awareness and love because everyone was donating and smiling to the people that needed it the most. Hope can cure and these are some cases that prove it.
Actually, on the site of the European Union, anyone can find information regarding the planning of scheduled medical treatment abroad. Every citizen of the European Union holds the right to schedule their medical treatment in a country abroad, like treatment for a specific condition or surgical operation with the same cost as the one to which the local citizens are entitled. However, there is a possibility that the healthcare system differs from country to country and this is why citizens should contact their insurance company and the National Contact Point. In any case, they will be asked to translate medical records and therefore should refer to a translation office which follows all the quality assurance protocols and it has ,of course, well-trained, experienced and specialized translators.
Medical news are now accessible to everyone through the internet and that gets everyone involved in the occurring developments. With bated breath, we are all monitoring developments which herald the improvement in our quality of life, not to mention the rescue, even, of animals that a few years ago didn’t stand a chance to survive.
A great example would be the development of a machine, which, according to researchers, would be able to fix an injured liver and maintain its living condition for a week. It is a complicated filtration system which provides the liver with blood and can extend the safe placement of the liver out of the body for up to seven days. Therefore, it can provide great potential, such as correction of an injured liver, but also the rebirth of it. Research at an initial stage showed that six out of ten poor-performing human livers which weren’t put on a list for a transplant, returned to full function after a week on the machine.
All these developments come to complete the puzzle of global developments and remind everyone that we live in an era when, through technology and effective communication, we have more opportunities in medical treatment but also in the access to medical information. All this can happen because twenty-four hours a day, walls are falling down while bridges of communication are being built among scientists of different nationalities and languages.
