European Nurses Boost Biosimilar Education With Newly Translated Guide to Switching

The European Specialist Nurses Organisation (ESNO) has launched 7 new translations of its guide to the management of switches between reference biologics and biosimilars. In addition to the original version in English, the guide is now available in German, French, Spanish, Polish, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch.

The translations of the guide are available to be downloaded at ESNO’s website and are also made available in hard copy by the ESNO office.

Ber Oomen, executive director at ESNO, said in a statement announcing the translations, “Nurses play a very important role in guiding a patient through their treatment path. Our aim with the guide was to empower the nurse in their interactions with their patients. By translating the guide in to 7 additional languages, we aim to educate even more of the nursing community by providing the information in their language.”

The guide, which was originally launched last year, addresses the specific role of the specialized nurse in interacting with patients during the switching process.

The guide is built on existing European Commission guidelines for the healthcare community, and it emphasizes the nurse’s key link between the prescriber and patient and role in treatment adherence.

The included in the guide are definitions of biologic and biosimilar medicines, information about switching and substitution, information on the benefits of using biosimilars, information on the nurse’s role in managing the switch, pharmacovigilance guidance, case studies, real-world evidence, and flow charts that describe how the switch, follow-up, and support processes will unfold for patients.

The ENSO has previously indicated that the guide will eventually be translated into 23 EU languages.