The importance of multilingual leaflets

The Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) and the Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) are not only part of the documents required during the marketing authorisation request process in most countries but are also important documents that help professionals and patients use the medical product correctly and safely.

However, these documents are often too complex and not enough user-friendly for patients: for example, the elderly or disadvantaged persons, but in general most patients, lack understanding of basic terms such as interactions, contraindications and dosages and may put at risk their health and compromise proper adherence to the medication protocol.

Another major issue when dealing with medicines information is language compliance. This is a well known problem in countries with more than one official language (most requiring leaflets to be delivered in all the country official languages), but it is not less important in countries with one official language but with high numbers of immigrants or people with a different native languages.

The recent surge of immigration over the years and the tourism have made multilingual information essential in every market.

Adding to the complexity of the problem some languages may also require culture-specific adaptations to the translation in order to be fully effective and understood.

There are 24 official languages within Europe and some countries may require documents in multiple languages due to recognized minorities or established migration flows. A small translation error can have an enormous impact on a patients’ life, can cause production delays or even the recall of a product, in extreme cases there may also be legal consequences.

How can a pharmaceutical company reduce all those risks while addressing language-conscious market niches?

Digital Patient Leaflets are playing an important role as a de-facto solution especially in multilingual countries: for example they can provide additional information that cannot be included in the paper document due to costs of package space limitations and by allowing patients a choice of language when they access the documentation and want to get a better understanding of the product and related medical information.

The use of digital leaflets can provide to the producer support for a whole range of use cases:

With these requirements in mind myHealthbox has developed the eLeaflet solution, a new approach which supports a dramatic paradigm change in the way information is delivered in the healthcare space.

The eLeaflet is a new digital information leaflet format developed specifically for the healthcare that fulfills the requirements of users, patients and professionals.

Some of the main feature of the eLeaflet solution are:

• MULTILANGUAGE SUPPORT Deliver information and services in over 35 languages - Provide information to ethnic minorities in their native language or build advanced services targeted at international travellers. Also exports and product launches in new markets can greatly benefit from multi-language support.
• DYNAMIC FILE FORMAT - Optimized for web and mobile - Access information easily on any device. Dynamic text reflow, font resize, media and screen size optimization guarantee optimal readability and information access on any platform.
• MULTIMEDIA SUPPORT - Native support for images, sound andvideo - Help your customers understand and use your products better. Media automatically resize for the target platform so that your customers get the full experience regardless of the device.
• FULL BRANDING - Logos, color, fonts, package picture - add full color, logos and all branding elements to your digital packaging. Make sure your customers recognise your brand and keep it on their smartphones wherever they go.
• “BUY IT NOW” BUTTON - Direct link to your eCommerce site - take users from "reading information" to "buying" in just 1 click. Tracking and analytics is also fully supported so you know the who, when and how. With easy updates you can also change your partner eCommerce site at any time to pick the one that gives you the best revenue share.
• PATIENT TEMPLATES - Educational content, faq, dosage helpers, pharmacies maps and customer surveys are just some of the digital services that the eLeaflet format can support. All can be implemented or switched off according to the specific market, product or country.
• HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TEMPLATES - Quick access to Adverse Reactions forms, surveys, dosage calculators or clinical studies.
• MARKETING TEMPLATES - List and reference other products from the same producer - Products and services up-sell and cross-sell has never been so easy, reference all your products to help users navigate your whole products lineup. List discounts or special initiatives and promotions. Show market availability and testimonials.
• SOCIAL MARKETING - Recommend a product - enable our social recommendation engine to share information and product recommendations through all your social channels.