Challenges Medical Device Translation Had to Face During and Post-Pandemic

The medical device market all over the world is supposed to exceed $700 billion in 2030 as per the data shared by GlobalData which is a leading analytics company. It is an amazing recovery that the field was facing from the impact of this sector from COVID-19.

The recent pandemic has changed the scenario of the medical industry all over the world. With the production and manufacturing problems the translation companies also had to suffer a lot at the hands of the after-effects of COVID-19. However, since most of the translation tasks can easily be carried out online so not much was hit by the pandemic. But, considering the minute details, the translation needs in the medical industry slowed down and hence caused a loss to the people involved. A lot of companies had to shut down their businesses due to major losses during the pandemic. The medical companies managed to survive. The primary reason was that they had to carry out the searches and work on vaccines based on the cultural and medical history of the participants who were coming from different regions and ethnicities.

As per a recent survey pandemic actually crippled the global supply of all kinds of medical devices and equipment. It also delayed the deliveries and there was inflation in the prices of the materials. Meanwhile, healthcare costs and regulatory challenges with cyber security also became the prime concerns with lawsuits and interdisciplinary competition. It was a challenging time for the medical device translation companies as well. They had to cope with the following challenges

Supply chains hindrances

Professional translation vendors are evident for the translation services before they ship the medical devices to other countries. Translation services were also a victim of the pandemic. Though companies tried to be sure that their trusted network of freelancers continue working for them and stay as their backup. Nonetheless, it was a huge challenge for medical device companies to look for translation agencies and professional translation vendors. The lack of quality translation hindered the growth of the supply chains. Though the business of translation went quite well even during the pandemic. However, due to fewer translation agencies, companies had to wait till they had the translation of their choice before they could export the devices and equipment with proper translation. Medical language interpretation services, however, remained in trend and people could avail the services easily.

Hiked healthcare costs

With the businesses closing down, it became challenging for the suppliers to maintain the same prices. The budgets got tight and many companies decided to pull out the plug. Moreover, companies also preferred using machine translation, and computer-assisted translation tools to streamline the workflow with fewer costs and expenses. Individual physicians also started charging more. Healthcare centers and hospitals backed out from the interpretation services. It got a challenging time for everyone involved. However, things got better eventually and a lot of translation companies also started offering an economical electronic medical interpretation. Anyway, the damage that COVID had done to the big medical industries and translation services is yet to recover.

Regulatory challenges

Translation of the documents and device handouts requires particular medical expertise and up-to-date knowledge of regulatory affairs. However, this became another challenge to cope with during the pandemic which is still a challenge after good 3 years. Medical device translation services require expertise from the technical and medical domain. Also, the manufacturers of medical devices and equipment always need support from the specialist and expert LSPs if they want to ensure that their translations comply with the local regulatory requirements. They also have to ensure that they get the translation timely. There are set and defined rules for medical device regulation by the EU as well as the US. Regulatory affairs also keep changing and these are different from each other in different regions. Hence, keeping up with these regulations is one of the challenges that companies as well as translators have to deal with.

Cybersecurity issues and concerns

Medical companies and hospitals not only had to navigate the challenges of invasion of patient privacy during and post covid-19 but also needed to protect the data stored and shared through the devices. With this, they had to work on keeping their own data confidential and secured too. During the pandemic, people started consulting professional medical interpretation services online so this involved the sharing of data from all parties. This whole content included sensitive information, know-how, and intellectual property rights. Whenever data or documents and information is shared with an external supplier it is likely to get leaked and at risk of getting opened if it is not properly managed and secured. Therefore translation companies also started working on managing translations to ensure security and data protection.

Forged and impersonation challenges

Translation companies are vulnerable places for device manufacturers as they root for the launch and business expansion in new markets. The companies can save the content and lock it by playing a valuable role in helping device manufacturing. They can integrate features and guard against IP theft and iteration which has become a major concern recently. Many rival medical and translation companies also get involved in such thefts. They do it to imitate and adapt to the changes of rivals and modify their strategies accordingly. Therefore, professional medical device translation services should also be protected. The translation is the game changer and the translation of drug study labels is also an important factor to take care of. As drugs come with particular requirements and conditions. Life-saving drugs are the most precious ones and their translation with the instructions of the dosages is also an important concern.

Conclusion

COVID-19 has been the major factor that has affected the businesses in the past 3 years. The medical industry is no different and most of the medical device manufacturers had to suffer due to delays in translation and a lack of export to other countries. The challenges they had to navigate through were severe and big. It included hindrances in supply chains, hiked healthcare costs, and regulatory and cybersecurity challenges with the counterfeiting and imitators.