When patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs) call medical information services, they are seeking information about the drug they are taking or prescribing. They are looking for reassurance and clear communication. So, when that information is given in a language that is not their own, even with the support of a translation service, many may feel less confident about the information shared with them.
Outsourcing many medical information (MI) activities does make sense for company efficiency. As McKinsey notes, outsourcing MI inquiries can minimize process delays, remove some of the strain on internal teams, and means companies don’t have to invest in new technologies, training, and infrastructure needed to support them[1].
Turning to outsourcing partners allows internal teams to focus on building the product information strategy, developing medical information and reviewing existing information for accuracy, generating valuable insights, and collaborating with other teams to support product strategies and patient well-being.
The advantages of local in-country language support versus simultaneous translation
Many companies have chosen to outsource their MI inquiry services to a central hub with simultaneous translation, in which a third person on the call carries out the translation but is not necessarily a healthcare professional. However, there is a growing recognition among companies that using native-language speakers resonates better with patients and HCPs. Conversations are more open, questions are handled better, and MI professionals can capture adverse events and product complaints more easily if they are native-language speakers.
Having affiliates support HCPs with local language product information allows those professionals to capture the information more clearly and, in turn, communicate that information to their patients more succinctly.
Patients forced to deal with MI services and simultaneous translation often find the process frustrating. They want to be able to ask questions and get clear answers without having to wait for the translation. There is also a risk that the translator won’t understand the medical information and may misinterpret what the MI professional is saying.
The issue becomes more pressing when dealing with novel products such as treatments for cancer. Can the MI team be certain that the translator understands the nuances of the product enough to accurately translate that information? It is possible that the translator may not be familiar with certain terms that relate to a novel therapeutic.
Combining local MI and PV expertise
One clear benefit of having local affiliates handle MI inquiries is that these same individuals can also support pharmacovigilance activities, such as reporting adverse events and other local PV activities that also require being a native speaker. In this way, rather than having the MI team report adverse events to the PV team, which in turn reports to the local health authority, these steps are managed by the same person or same team – making the process both more efficient and more cost-effective.
Additionally, all MI providers must either be a healthcare professional (such as a doctor or nurse), a pharmacist, or a person with a scientific or life sciences background. It would therefore make sense to have PV professionals manage these activities since they have this background as well as the training and expertise to assess an adverse event and report it.
Another important consideration is data privacy. Today, with more regulation around data privacy and data exchange, this issue should be considered and assessed when offshoring resources is under discussion.
All these issues pose questions for companies as they consider how best to outsource their MI inquiry services to cut costs, improve efficiency while ensuring patients and HCPs have the secure, trusted support they need.
About the author:
Natanny Cunha is Service Line Lead (SLL) Medical Information and Senior Manager for PharmaLex Portugal. Natanny is a biomedical scientist with more than eight years of experience in medical information and pharmacovigilance, leading global projects and optimizing services.
[1] Medical Information for the future, McKinsey & Company, 2018. https://www.mckinsey.de/~/media/McKinsey/Industries/Pharmaceuticals%20and%20Medical%20Products/Our%20Insights/How%20pharma%20manufacturers%20can%20enhance%20their%20medical%20information%20teams/Medical-information-for-the-future.pdf
