Thread: Acronyms in English to Spanish Health Care Translation

I am working on a translation for someone in the health care field, but the majority of the project deals with legal material. Can anyone tell me what the guidelines are on acronyms in this type of translation? Here are a couple of examples:

1) PHR - Personal Health Record
2) HIPAA - The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

Would it be correct to make a new acronym for a translated term?

1) Expediente Personal de Salud - would it be correct to use EPS instead of PHR?
2) I am not even sure on how the second one would translate lol - Would it be "Acta de Portabilidad y Responsabilidad de Seguro Medico" or "Ley de Portabilidad y Responsabilidad de Seguro Medico"?

Any help here would be appreciated!

Hola Rikki:


I don't think there are guidelines on acronyms. (If I am wrong, please someone let me know.)

I personally do not like to use acronyms; I want people to understand everything they read. Sin embargo, si las siglas son de uso común y todo el mundo las conoce, entonces si las utilizo.

En cuanto a The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, yo lo traduciría como: Ley de portabilidad y responsabilidad de seguro médico.

Saludos,

Xóchitl

Thank you Xochitl! That is exactly how I decided to translate it. As for the Acronyms in English being changed to its equivalent in Spanish, I have decided to translate the term itself, but keep it's acronym for the English version.

Thanks so much for chiming in!

Best Regards,

Rikki

Originally Posted by Rikki

... I have decided to translate the term itself, but keep it's (its) acronym for the English version.

I would have done the same thing.

When I translate well known/established English acronyms, I will mention them in parenthesis. For instance: Asociación Americana de Traductores (ATA, siglas en inglés); Departamento de Servicios para Niños y Familias (DFACS, siglas en inglés), etc. But if they are constantly observed in the text and become 'annoying', then I will just continue to use their English acronyms.

Estamos en contacto,

Xóchitl