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What the EU’s Medical Devices Regulation delay means to patients, providers, and translators

Medical Pharmaceutical Translations • May 7, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Good news…for some: The EU has pushed back the date its new Medical Devices Regulation will go into effect.

In 2017, the European Parliament caused a stir in the medical device market by passing a law that requires more thorough translations on medical device labels. Set to go into effect on May 26 of this year, the new regulations would have been a boon to medical translators, among others.

On the other hand, some, including the companies that produce these devices, found the regulations an enormous constraint and even a budgetary concern.

Now, due to the coronavirus pandemic, start date for the European Union Medical Devices Regulation (EU MDR) has been postponed until May 26, 2021.

This is good news for patients who rely on these devices, especially at a time when things like remote healthcare and simply being able to easily obtain medical devices across borders are a concern. But the change may mean trouble for medical translators who were relying on an increased workload.

Read on to learn about the various ways people and organizations have been affected by the date change.

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