SCA: Authoring that feels familiar (but better)

Medical authoring has long relied on programs like Microsoft Word, and with good reason. The desktop publishing platform is user-friendly, universally familiar and has hardly changed in the three decades since its first release.

The short of it: people know how to use Word. But, for the nuanced Life Sciences industry, authors need a solution that can match the unique requirements of the drug development lifecycle. Luckily, structured component authoring (SCA) can combine the best aspects of the easy-to-use and intuitive interface of the popular word processing program with a more efficient way to manage the entire medical authoring process.

You don’t have to reinvent the wheel

Thousands of years ago, humans invented the wheel and forever changed how people and goods are transported. Over time, improvements have been made (think all-terrain tires or stronger, more-durable construction, etc.). The materials have evolved with technology, but the mechanics remain the same: two round objects connected by an axle to make moving things easier.

Word established the standard for desktop publishing, and it works easily enough for single or minimal authoring and basic document creation. Most writers have used it in some capacity, so there is little-to-no need to train to use the software. It’s okay — good even — for many uses.

However, in complex medical authoring scenarios, Word can inhibit the process due to:

• Inefficiencies with manually copying-pasting content to produce additional documents.
• Challenges updating unconnected content that spans thousands of pages in various stages of approval.
• Inconsistencies and errors in content and formatting resulting in different versions of the content across multiple authors and documents.
• Lack of compliance or audit capabilities.

Instead of an unfamiliar new tool with a confusing interface, SCA has the best features of traditional desktop publishing and with the added advantages of reusable approved content blocks, enhanced auditing abilities and an overall optimized content creation process.

Say “so long” to copy/paste

Word functions in a way that is now ubiquitous across programs outside of desktop publishing. From icons that are now ingrained into the fabric of modern communications to “command/control”+ “c” or “v” acting as commands that perform the same action across platforms, most users get the purpose of the copy/paste function.

Sure, copy/paste is great — but it’s unmanageable when creating multiple variations of documents that are hundreds of pages.

In medical publishing, the documentation is lengthy, the approval and review process can be even longer, and there are many regulations and requirements that authors need to adhere to. With SCA, you can better manage workflows throughout the approval process.

With the right SCA SaaS solution, you don’t have to sacrifice the ease of use or familiarity of a well-known program. Docuvera takes the best parts of desktop publishing and applies them to the Life Sciences industry for a platform that can optimize the entire medical authoring, review, and publication lifecycle.

Ready to unlock more efficient publishing for your Life Sciences organization? Schedule a demo today!