Synsstyrken er bedre; med andre ord ser pasienten tydeligere.

It is one compound noun, which is very common in Norwegian.

• syn = sight / vision
• styrke = strength
• synsstyrke = visual strength, usually visual acuity or clarity of vision
• synsstyrken = the visual acuity / the eyesight strength

So synsstyrken is the definite form of synsstyrke.

Because Norwegian usually marks definiteness by adding an ending to the noun.

• en synsstyrke = a visual acuity / an eyesight strength
• synsstyrken = the visual acuity

This is different from English, which normally uses a separate word like the.
In Norwegian, the noun itself often carries the definite ending.

Bedre is the comparative form of god/bra in this kind of meaning.

• bra = good
• bedre = better

So:

• Synsstyrken er bra = The visual acuity is good
• Synsstyrken er bedre = The visual acuity is better

The sentence is saying there has been an improvement, not just that the eyesight is good.

Normally, no. Bedre is the standard and natural comparative form.

Norwegian often uses irregular comparatives, just like English:

• god / bra → bedre
• English: good → better

So er bedre is the correct natural phrasing here.

Norwegian, like English, can leave the comparison implied.

• Synsstyrken er bedre = The visual acuity is better

This usually means better than before, better than earlier, or better than it was at the last check.

If you wanted to say the full comparison, you could add it:

• Synsstyrken er bedre enn før. = The visual acuity is better than before.

So the original sentence simply leaves that comparison understood from context.

Med andre ord means in other words.

It is a fixed expression used to:

• restate something
• explain something more simply
• give a clearer version of the previous statement

Here, the first part sounds a bit more technical:

• Synsstyrken er bedre

Then the second part explains it in a more direct way:

• med andre ord ser pasienten tydeligere

So the second clause is basically a reformulation of the first one.

This is because of the V2 rule in Norwegian.

In main clauses, the finite verb usually comes in the second position.
When a phrase like med andre ord is placed first, the verb must come next:

• Pasienten ser tydeligere. = The patient sees more clearly.
• Med andre ord ser pasienten tydeligere. = In other words, the patient sees more clearly.

So the word order changes because med andre ord takes the first position.

This is one of the most important patterns in Norwegian sentence structure.

Here tydeligere functions like an adverb, because it describes how the patient sees.

• tydelig = clear / clearly
• tydeligere = clearer / more clearly

In English, we often distinguish:

• adjective: clear
• adverb: clearly

In Norwegian, the same form often covers both ideas in this kind of usage.
So ser tydeligere means sees more clearly.

Pasienten means the patient, so it refers to a specific patient already known in the context.

That is very natural in a medical sentence, where the speaker is talking about a particular person under examination or treatment.

Compare:

• en pasient = a patient, any patient / an unspecified patient
• pasienten = the patient, a specific known patient

So pasienten is the natural choice here.

Because they present the idea in two different styles:

• Synsstyrken er bedre = more technical or clinical
• med andre ord ser pasienten tydeligere = plainer, easier to understand

This kind of reformulation is common when someone wants to make medical or formal language clearer.

So the sentence is not just repeating itself for no reason; it is giving:

1. a technical statement
2. a simpler explanation

The semicolon links two closely related parts of the sentence.

Here it shows:

• first statement: Synsstyrken er bedre
• reformulation: med andre ord ser pasienten tydeligere

A semicolon works well because the second part explains the first.

You could also see similar ideas written in other ways, for example with a full stop:

• Synsstyrken er bedre. Med andre ord ser pasienten tydeligere.

The semicolon simply gives a smoother connection between the two clauses.