Maisie Lloyd
I'm passionate about recording the world, but most of all driven by creativity and collaborative environments. My experience revolves around the production of digital content, pertaining to graphic design, writing copy, and video and audio content.
The importance of medical copy being accurate
Copy written for medical providers should always contain accurate, factual information which seeks to inform and educate the reader. The importance of it being factual lies in the fact that people will make decisions based on the information they receive, including how they are advised to approach and treat a condition.
The different types of medical copy
Medical Journals
These usually cover a range of medical subjects and allow medical figures to publish their reviews or research. Journals have a variety of reasons for use including:
- Encourage medical innovation
- Explore medical concerns
- To educate the reader
- Publish research findings
Medical Articles
Medical articles are written to help inform the reader on medical topics in an easy-to-understand way. Typically, this involves using plain English, avoiding jargon and using terminology which most readers will be familiar with.
The type of content this includes are things like treatment or conditions pages. These types of content are written to give information on what something is, the symptoms or signs of the issue, what can cause the issue as well as how it may be treated. A treatment page might provide an in-depth overview of how the treatment process works, from diagnoses to the point of resolution.
Medical blogs
This type of content is far more casual in its tone but can cover a broad scope of medical topics. This can range anywhere from raising awareness, to providing tips and tricks to spot ailments.
Where a blog may differ from something like a medical journal is the terminology used, the perspective it is written in as well as the length and nature that the subject matter is discussed in.
The process of writing medically accurate copy
- Establish the subject
Understanding what it is that you’re going to write about before rushing into just writing allows you to establish what it is you need to research.
- Research utilising medical journals, medically reviewed articles and local medical authorities.
Using medically accurate research materials is the only way writing copy for anything medical should be approached. Using only reliable sources which utilise science to back their content.
- Outline the common themes for the subject matter.
Identify how the content needs to be structured and consider what you need to include in it in order for your reader to feel satisfied. For instance, a medical journal will need research data, a hypothesis, an analysis of findings and a conclusion. Whereas a blog will have an entirely different structure, far more casual than that of a journal.
- Begin to write
Start to craft the copy, once you know the structure and you’ve collected all your research. As with any content writing, it needs to be original, plagiarism is punished by search engines, and it demonstrates an inability to provide authentic and useful content.
- Refer to the research.
As you’re writing, make sure to check your work. Refer to research when in doubt, keeping your content only factual.
- Check for punctuation, grammar and spelling.
This is a standard practice in copywriting, make sure that it is readable, concise, and isn’t littered with errors. When publishing medical content, you need to be able to demonstrate.
- Send it off to be medically reviewed.
The final and most important step to any medical piece of content is to have it medically reviewed. A medical review is conducted by a licensed healthcare worker like a dentist, doctor, or medical practitioner. The review checks over the content to ensure that all the information provided is relevant and factual.
