Response to letter to the editor – Professional medical writing support: The need of the day

Abstract

Sir, Thank you for your valuable comments on the editorial wherein you have raised two very important points. As suggested by you, apart from enhancing the quality of research reporting and speeding up the publication process, a medical writer would be an ideal advisor to prevent a researcher falling prey to “predatory publications” – the dark side of academic publishing. All academic and institutional researchers, especially those at the beginning of their career, could come in the web of such journals in a hurry to get a few publications on their curriculum vitae. An expert medical writer, by virtue of their knowledge of the publishing world, can screen such requests and advise if the journal being considered has scientific credibility and follows robust publication standards and practices for peer review and transparency. The Canadian Association of Research Libraries has produced a clear infographic that provides tips for avoiding publishing in undesirable journals.[1] Your second point about the lack of standardized training courses for medical writers endorsed by regulatory bodies is also valid. Professional bodies such as the American Medical Writers Association or the European Medical Writers Association and many other training institutes such as Duke University do offer basic, intermediate, and advanced medical writing courses in different types of documents. Writers can obtain certification on some of these courses. However, like any skill-based profession, medical writing too requires practice and experience to make the art (and science) perfect. Hence, when choosing medical writing support, it is important to look for someone who has knowledge in the relevant therapeutic area/s and adequate experience in authoring particular type/s of documents. Thank you once again for your interest and important comments. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.