Did you know that there is a vast pool of prospective buyers out there who you may be overlooking? According to research presented by The Hispanic Center,* the number of foreign-born United States citizens has increased significantly between the years 2000 and 2007. During this time, the number of foreign-born U.S. residents increased by 22.2%. In actual numbers, this translates to an increase of 6.9 million foreign-born individuals now residing in the United States. In total, there are over 38 million foreign-born residents, and 80 percent of these people were born in Latin America or Asia.**

What does this type of demographic change mean for your business, your marketing strategies, and your ability to tap into lucrative new markets? The truth is, these folks have the purchasing power and the need for what you're selling. They're interested in your products and they're eager to buy ... but have you done everything you can to reach out and connect with them? 

Translating your product information, your advertising message and your marketing strategies into language these prospective buyers can understand and respond to gives you a clear-cut advantage over your competition. Although many of these individuals are proficient in English, reaching out to them in their native tongue shows that you are sensitive to their needs and respect their cultural differences. When you make the effort to translate information about your products and your business, you are taking the first step towards building powerful, long-term relationships with new foreign-born prospects. 

To find out more about how translation can help you reach these prospective buyers in their own languages, on their own terms, call 877-ANY-LANG or email today! We'll be happy to outline our translation services, offer suggestions for creating and maintaining a multicultural marketing presence, and help you take your marketing efforts to the next level.

* Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of 2000 Census (5% IPUMS) and 2007 American Community Survey (1% IPUMS)

**Race and Hispanic Origin of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2007, a report by Elizabeth M. Grieco, United States Census Bureau

Being a technologist myself, I always look to the advances our scientists and engineers make with awe and wonder. As a society, we owe much to them.

I also know better than to give absolutes like "Machine translation will never replace human translators". Human capacity and ingenuity knows no bounds as of yet.

That said, we need to remember that as we apply machine translation to medical information, there are legal implications and, most importantly, the basis for medical choices and treatments. Mistakes and inaccuracies with medical information are simply not acceptable.

In our medical translation workflow, the legitimate role we have for machine translation is for terminology research, and to see how others have translated text that is new for us. Please note that this is more than in the past, but still quite limited.

Otherwise, because of legal, contractual and ethical requirements, we do not have or see any other role for machine translation in a medical context at this time. We will continue to follow the development of the technology, and as it evolves, evaluate how it can improve quality, lower costs and reduce turnaround time for our human translators.

Luis Miguel, CEO
tel: 530.750.2040, ext. 1

This week I read an engaging and informative survey report released by the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) detailing Americans' usage of personal health records, or PHRs.

What's a PHR?

According to the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), a PHR is "a tool that you can use to collect, track and share past and current information about your health or the health of someone in your care." A personal health record is different from a medical record because it is the patient's responsibility to compile and maintain a PHR.

The survey indicates one in 14 Americans has used a personal health record, double the number of users from a year earlier. This number is almost certain to continue growing as the adoption of electronic health records, or EHRs, becomes more widespread. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included up to $29 billion to support providers' adoption and meaningful use of such records.

Highlights of the survey showed that more than half of PHR users learned something about their health as a result of their PHR and a third of users used the PHR to take action to improve their condition. In addition, low-income PHR users (60%) tended to feel more connected to their doctor as a result of using a PHR.

While private companies offer PHR solutions, over half of respondents to the survey said they felt most comfortable using a PHR provided by their doctor or insurer.

PHR Translation Is Urgently Needed...

Since the results of the study showed that low-income PHR users stand to benefit greatly from PHR use, and in many areas of the country, the limited-English and low-income demographics overlap, it makes sense that PHR providers should expand PHR offerings to other languages as soon as possible. People who primarily speak Spanish or another language should not be denied this service.

If something as simple as maintaining a personal health record can help people feel more connected to providers and be more proactive about their health decisions, then everyone should get one! Do you have a PHR?

Luis Miguel, CEO
tel: 530.750.2040, ext. 1