Medical Writing

Medical writing includes the design and production of printed or digital documents, particularly about medicine or health care. It is also, an art of creating clear and precise scientific documents that includes clinical research documents, healthcare websites, fitness and medical journals as well as health-related news. Along with this, it includes documentation for clients of media industry, government, clinical research organizations (CROs) and medical device manufacturers. You can be a professional medical writer with clinical research courses and training. 

Medical writing can be broadly classified into Regulatory medical writing and Educational medical writing:

1)      Regulatory Medical Writing :

Regulatory writing is a branch of medical writing that focuses on the documents that a medical writer or a regulated medical writer must submit to the regulatory authorities at various stages of a clinical trial. In general, each country has its own national authority that requires approval for the marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals, cosmetic products, food and biological products.

These documents include clinical trial protocols, clinical trial reports, patient consent forms, drug brochures, and the most important- Common Technical Documentation [CTD] in the prescribed format.

2)      Educational Medical Writing :

These documents are intended for the general public and are written in basic, non-technical language. This subset of medical writing helps create literature, journal manuscripts, and summaries of drug-related education and distribution. Also, creating content for health-related journals, newsletters, and websites is altogether the job of an educational medical writer.

Education:

Earn a bachelor's degree in a related science field. In fact, medical writing requires highly specialized skills. Hence, most employers are looking for candidates with a degree in related fields such as life sciences or statistics. On the other hand, a bachelor's degree can be a good start to your career.

What do medical writers do?

·         Medical writers generally work closely with scientists, doctors, and other subject experts to create effective documents that visibly define research results and product usage.

·         Medical writers write, proofread, and finalize protocols, investigator brochures, outlines, regulatory documents, and clinical documentation.

·         They must ensure that the results of clinical or scientific research and statistical interpretation are accurately reflected in the final document.

·         They coordinate with clinicians, clinical scientists, bio-statisticians, and pharmacists to interpret research results.

·         Medical authors certify that their medical documentation complies with the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) or other relevant regulatory guidelines. Medical writers develop standard operating procedures for preparing and maintaining appropriate medical correspondence for their company.

·         The medical record transfer officer ensures that appropriate documented quality control (QC) tests are performed on the medical transfer service.

·         Medical editors work for companies that manufacture medicines and medical devices to design training and informational materials for kits and package inserts used by doctors and nurses.

Job Opportunities:

Presently, careers in medical writing are on the rise, and the demand for medical writers is very high. Medical writers can find work in niches such as:

·         Media & Publishing companies

·         Reputed Medical Journals

·         Academic medical institutions engaged in providing education to healthcare professionals.

·         Medical/scientific societies.

·         Pharmaceutical/healthcare product companies including medical device companies.

·          Healthcare Websites.

 

An effective medical writer for the patient is important because, it ensures that the audience retains a high percentage of the information presented. A better understanding of the patient leads to better information recall, patient satisfaction, treatment compliance, and improved health!