Freelance medical writers operate on a contractual basis, collaborating with clients to articulate, write, and disseminate research that significantly impacts healthcare and contributes to saving lives. Their responsibilities encompass various tasks, ranging from detailing clinical trial reports for refereed journals, promoting innovative medical devices, educating healthcare professionals or the general public about new treatments, to crafting grant proposals for funding new research initiatives.
These professionals typically transition from roles in other departments, such as regulatory medical writing, scientific writing publications, and grantsmanship. Their services include creating diverse documents that elucidate research outcomes, product usage, and other medical information. Collaborating with scientists, healthcare professionals, and other subject matter experts, they produce medical content for educational, informational, or promotional purposes.
Clients seeking the expertise of freelance medical writers include government representatives, investigators, healthcare organizations, medical institutes, biotechnology firms, pharmaceutical companies, and medical communications agencies. The scope of work involves developing various medical documents, such as study reports, clinical trial protocols, publications, information on medical devices, medical books, newspaper articles, healthcare advertisements, and press releases.
Freelance medical writers also play a crucial role in quality control, ensuring that written documentation complies with publication rules, regulatory laws, and guidelines regarding format, structure, and content. Additionally, they contribute to presentations and conferences on behalf of clients and are capable of conducting independent research and delivering content within specified timelines.
There are several types of freelance medical writer positions, each with unique responsibilities that may vary depending on the employer. For instance, regulatory writers focus on creating and editing documents for regulatory agencies during the approval process for medical devices, drugs, and biological agents. They are typically employed by medical device companies and contract research organizations (CROs). Scientific writers collaborate with healthcare professionals to create and edit manuscripts for refereed journals, abstracts, and oral presentations for medical conferences, often working for healthcare agencies or medical device companies.
