The publication of study reports is a key activity in clinical research. However, it requires compliance with a number of quality, transparency, ethical, and timeliness requirements. In this context, the support of professional medical writers can be extremely valuable. These professionals are frequently employed by pharmaceutical companies, and their contribution is acknowledged in 5–18% of published scientific articles.
The positive impact that these professionals can have on publication quality, ethics, and timeliness is highlighted by a systematic literature review conducted by Oxford PharmaGenesis, which compared 849 publications developed with the support of professional medical writers against 2,073 articles produced without such assistance.
Improved quality and adherence to reporting guidelines
According to the literature analysis, reports prepared with the help of medical writers show greater compliance with the CONSORT guidelines (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials), are more frequently published in journals with an impact factor, are written in higher-quality English, and less frequently report non-pre-specified study objectives.
The improved adherence to CONSORT guidelines likely reflects the training of medical writers in Good Publication Practice (GPP3). Interestingly, however, this contribution does not appear to significantly affect the quality of abstracts, probably because strict word limits influence the preparation of these sections. The involvement of medical writers also appears to promote research transparency, both by reducing the reporting of outcomes that were not pre-specified—a practice more commonly observed in publications developed without professional writing support—and by encouraging the disclosure of funding sources and conflicts of interest. Finally, although articles supported by a medical writer tend to demonstrate better linguistic quality, this does not necessarily result in publication in higher-impact journals, which generally depends on the subject matter of the study and the importance of the findings.
More timely publications
According to the review, the contribution of medical writers can accelerate the publication of study results by reducing the time between study completion and the first publication of findings. By contrast, the period between manuscript submission and journal acceptance does not appear to be significantly affected by professional writing support.
Considering that clinicians frequently cite lack of time as a major reason for failing to publish study results, the support of medical writers can help streamline the writing, review, and publication process. This may have a positive impact not only on the dissemination of scientific findings, but also on the overall publication productivity of individual authors.
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