Medical Writing's role in the Healthcare industry

The Importance of Medical Writers in the Healthcare Industry. Medical writers play a large part in the Medical industy, not only in advertising. From writing drug instructions to reviewing scientific papers, they are responsible for much of the communication in the field. This article will discuss the detail of what they do, and why they promise to become increasingly important to the healthcare industry.

What Are Medical Writers?

The roles of Medical writers in the medical field vary dramatically. They write up summaries of research products, create drug instructions for the general public to receive with a new prescription, and everything in between. The specific work done will depend on the focus of the company they are working for, but generally their skill is in taking technical scientific and medical information and translating it to the level of of the audience.

Most medical writers work for companies such as pharmaceutical manufacturers and contract research organisations (CRO), which work with pharmaceuticals to conduct clinical studies and get their drugs licensed by regulatory boards. A medical writer working for a CRO will be writing to a more technical audience and doing things like summarizing clinical trials and results. One working for a pharmaceutical company may have a wider range of tasks, including writing advertising and public relations copy in some cases.

A Growing Field

Medical writers have been a part of the health care industry for a long time, but it is only in recent years that the field has really taken off. This is evidenced by the fact that between 2002 and 2008 the demand for medical writers more than doubled, reports CenterWatch. This growth should remain consistent in the future.

Much of the reason for this growth is due to the incredible breakthroughs being made by pharmaceutical companies, which are putting many new drugs on the market. This creates an larger demand for medical writers at every stage. As more drugs are put on the market, new diseases develop and current ones mutate, and new therapies are tested the role of medical writers will only increase in importance.

The influence of govenment is another factor in much of this growth. Regulatory bodies around the world are tightening their rules and requiring increasing amounts of documentation and trials proving a drugs efficacy and safety before they are approved to go on the market. This is something that is unavoidable. That essentially guarantees that the field of medical writing will continue to grow.

Medical writing is an interesting, exciting field, but one which is really recognised in the public sphere. This is despite the fact that almost everyone has read something created by a medical writer at some point in their lives. This thriving field is essential to the modern health care industry and will only continue to grow in coming years.