Many pharmacists are providing poorly translated information that could seriously harm their customers, a study has found.

In a survey of pharmacies catering to Spanish-speaking customers in the Bronx, New York, half of the pharmaceutical labels examined contained errors.

Almost half of the Bronx speaks Spanish, and most pharmacists who cater to non-English speakers rely on computer translations to provide vital information.

Potentially fatal errors revealed by the new study included translating "once a day" as "eleven times a day." The English word "once" is the same as the Spanish word for "eleven."

Translating "by mouth" as "by little" was another easy error to make – a difference of just one letter in Spanish – and also one that could have harmful consequences.

"We're not going to be able to reduce disparities in care if we cannot ensure that patients know how to use their medicines," Dr Iman Sharif told Reuters Health.

Sharif, who formerly practised in the Bronx, and is now at Nemours AI DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, conducted the research with Julia Tse, of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Sharif said that the inequalities caused by poor translation should be part of the current debate over healthcare reform. She also urged non-English speakers to stand up for their rights.

"Ask for a professional interpreter," she told Reuters. "Don't just accept that you don't speak English and therefore you don't get to have information about your medicine."

The Sharif-Tse study is being published in the May issue of the academic journal Pediatrics.

11 April 2010