How can medical device companies leverage eLearning translations to improve the use of medical devices around the world? While patients are the end user for many medical devices, healthcare professionals are responsible for guiding patients in correct use, as well as operating most medical devices themselves, and are thus a key audience for eLearning in the medical device industry. To access and protect patients in international markets, eLearning material, in addition to medical device documentation, needs to be translated into multiple languages to ensure regulatory compliance and responsible device use globally. From translation of electronic version of traditional paper documents, such as electronic instructions for use (eIFUs), to localization of software as a medical device (SaMD), medical device companies benefit from high quality, timely medical translation services aimed for audiences of both patients and healthcare professionals.
Supporting Patients with eIFU Translations
Perhaps the most standardized type of eLearning material, multilingual instructions for use (IFU) provided in digital form are crucial for patients and healthcare professionals to operate medical devices. Medical device misuse by patients varies by device, but can be life-threatening: one study, for example, found that only 22% of EpiPens were used correctly by patients. Patients and the trusted medical professionals that provide support with medical devices, from in vitro diagnostics medical devices (IVDs) to medication injectors, rely on IFU to guide correct use.
Today, electronic instructions for use (eIFU) are growing in prominence to replace paper IFU, particularly as eIFU translations are often superior to IFU translations. While traditional IFUs are included on paper in the original device packaging, eIFU are centralized either on the device itself or on manufacturer websites. Thus, the challenge of ensuring the IFU reflects the correct language or version for a particular market is replaced by a more universal and flexible eIFU – as well as the option for more diverse language coverage. Ensuring that multilingual eIFU make use of accurate translation is an utmost requirement for safe operation of medical devices.
eLearning for Every Healthcare Professional
Many medical devices are operated primarily by healthcare workers, from surgeons and dentists to respiratory therapists and technologists, making eLearning translations particularly important for global marketing. Yet proper medical device use requires continued training – and can be a key part of regulatory requirements such as risk management strategies for use error. eLearning can be tailored to staff around the world, including as part of Continued Education (CE) courses, yet this requires high-level multilingual content management to ensure consistent training across healthcare settings. Smart translation technology, such as medical terminology management and cloud-based translation memory are essential for medical device companies to succeed in eLearning.
Medical Software eLearning Solutions
eLearning translations are perhaps most important for newer types of medical devices, including Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) and software-based MedTech. As device software may be specific to local language markets, so too must eLearning translations. Leveraging in-country linguists and software experts can ensure that healthcare professionals not only operate devices correctly, but also understand version and language-specific nuances of these devices. And as the regulatory landscape continues to grow for these software health technologies, even more eLearning guidance will be necessary to ensure regulatory compliance across languages.
How CSOFT Health Sciences Can Help
CSOFT Health Sciences, leader in medical translation, offers eLearning translations for all types of medical devices, including IVDs and SaMDs, and other medical and health products. Our smart technology, from machine translation to content management systems, as well as our linguistic, cosmetic, and functional testing, enable efficient and cost-effective translations to help your eLearning materials reach patients and medical professionals and meet regulatory guidelines. Visit lifesciences.csoftintl.com to learn more about our technology-driven translation solutions.