How SCA can extend the lifespan of Life Sciences content

Imagine your team of medical information writers has spent days, months, maybe even years authoring, reviewing, and updating drug development content in a program like Microsoft Word. This process involved the writing itself and multiple rounds of reviews, as well as sifting through hundreds of paragraphs to update a single sentence and countless hours reconciling various versions.

During this time, your team may have expanded or contracted. And all along, you’ve been using multiple, unconnected programs to move the project forward.

You’re done, or so you think, and you publish your content. But six months later, a discrepancy is found, and you can’t quite tell where — or when — it happened.

When life sciences teams use multiple programs and platforms to create documentation, it’s easy for critical changes to get lost or updated incorrectly. For some organizations, the only solution they see is hiring more people to ensure content stays relevant and accurate. However, instead of adding more personnel to an already expensive process, pharma companies can look to solutions like structured component authoring (SCA) to increase the speed and accuracy at which content can be created while effectively extending its lifespan.

What is SCA?

Often called structured component (or content) authoring, SCA is a cloud-based SaaS solution that can streamline a complex writing process. For life sciences organizations, simplification is achieved through a single platform where teams can write, review, update, and publish. Instead of an overly-complicated system of disparate files and programs, SCA can enable more efficient documentation that utilizes one source of truth.

What to look for in your SCA solution

An innovative SCA solution designed specifically for the life sciences industry can not only drastically improve the overall speed at which content can be produced, but also help ensure that the written information — from authoring through publication — stays correct and compliant.

Some additional capabilities to assess your SCA solution include:

An intuitive interface
There’s a reason Microsoft Word is utilized by so many organizations, life sciences and beyond; it’s familiar. But that doesn’t mean it is a good option for the complex process of medical information authoring. Your SCA solution shouldn’t feel like a complicated program only an experienced technical professional would use — it is for writing, after all. Look for a platform with an interface that will be intuitive for the people using it on a day-to-day basis: the authors and reviewers.

Detailed reporting and audit trail
Can your SCA store content updates, reviews, approval workflows, and publishing events in an audit trail? Reporting and auditing within the same platform where writing and reviewing occur can enhance accountability and help reduce errors because nothing gets lost.

Intelligent component reuse
When writing teams use platforms like Microsoft Word for medical information authoring, copying and pasting, or creating content from scratch, the result is wasted time and resources. But when content is created as structured components, once approved, it can be reused — and tracked — across multiple documents.

Omnichannel publishing from one project
When evaluating your SCA options, check to see if it can automatically upload to existing downstream system. You’ll want an SCA solution that can create different document types (Word, PDF, HTML, etc.) with different styles from a single project for maximum effectiveness.

Flexible change management
Are updates visible in real time? Look for an SCA solution that sends automatic notifications when reused content changes. It should enable users to easily view changes and update local documents appropriately.

If you feel like your documentation is stuck in the dark ages, it’s time to find a better option. The right SCA solution can deliver life sciences a more efficient authoring process that achieves rapid ROI and gives content an extended lifespan.

Docuvera: Your SCA solution for a complex authoring process

Docuvera understands the nuances of medical information writing and pharma content authoring. When teams can collaborate through one source, it’s easier to ensure consistency and accuracy throughout the entire documentation process — even when changes or refinements occur later. With Docuvera’s SCA solution designed specifically for the life sciences industry, writing, reviewing, approving, reusing, and updating content is easier. By leveraging our SCA solution, your organizations can streamline your documentation creation processes — even when updates are required — to ultimately extend the lifespan of content.

Ready to learn how Docuvera can deliver a longer shelf life for your content? Schedule a demo today!