Osakidetza will use a neural translator to translate written information from queries in Basque into Spanish

The Department of Healthof theBasque Government and Osakidetza A have launched a neural text translator BAT to translate written information from consultations in Basque into Spanish.

As explained in the note sent to the media, thanksto this tool, which has been called Itzulbide, health personnel will be made easier to work when medical consultations are carried out in Basque, since it will allow them to include information in the patient's medical history in Basque. Subsequently,professionals who are not Euskaldunes  will be able to access this information, translated into Spanish , and "without conditioning the continuity of assistance due to possible errors in translation or interpretation".

This tool, according to the Department of Health, responds to the objective of guaranteeing the linguistic rights of patients and professionals, as set out in the Basque Health Pact, as well as to the 'Third Plan for the Standardization of the Euskera of Osakidetza (2022-2028)', one of the objectives of which is to enable professionals to work in Basque in corporate applications, such as the medical history.

The growth of the Euskera

Osakidetza points out that there is a "growing demand" for writing in Basque in the medical history, both socially and professionally. It also anticipates that this development will be accelerated from now on "because more than half of the active staff in structural places are bilingual and the same is true of the latest promotions of UPV/EHU health degrees." All of this implies "an increase in the use of the Basque language in a natural way", both in oral and written communication.

Today, even if the patient's relationship is in Basque, the health professional transcribes to Spanish on the computer the information from that consultation because "they are afraid" that this information will be needed by another professional who does not understand the language and therefore "jeopardize the safety of care".

More than 200 health professionals from different specialties have participated inthe project, together with thecompany Elhuyar .  They compiled clinical texts in Spanish and translated them into Basque, thus creating a bilingual linguistic corpus to feed the motor of the neural translator.

This tool has begun to be tested among OSI professionals in Donostialdea and is expected to be available throughout Osakidetza's network before the end of the year.