Plain language and readability - Volume 24, Issue

Plain language is writing in clear, concise language that is easy to read and understand. Whenever I hear the term plain language I am reminded of a lay summary I was once asked to edit. The stream of technical language (‘self-source bias’, ‘effect m…

Writing Matters - Volume 21, Issue

Writing matters to medical writers … or at least it should. But sometimes we are more consumed with the content of a document than the writing itself. And some might even argue that detailed medical or scientific information cannot be written as…

EMWA news - Volume 21, Issue

News from the EMWA Website Manager   New role At the recent EMWA conference held in Cyprus, I assumed the position of EMWA Website Manager. While this is a daunting task, it is a challenge I am pleased to take on. To ensure that I was in a…

Medical Writing

Medical Writing is a quarterly publication that aims to educate and inform medical writers in Europe and beyond. Each issue focuses on a specific theme, and all issues include feature articles and regular columns on topics relevant to the practice of…

Adeline Rosenberg

Landscaping the terminology of accessible language document types - Volume 31, Issue

There are three main types of accessible language documents that medical writers and medical publications professionals may work on. These are regulatory lay summaries, publication-associated plain language summaries (PLS), and standalone plain…

What can twitter do for me? - Volume 22, Issue

Like everything, the usefulness of twitter depends on what the user does with it. Here is an assortment of information that can be obtained if you selectively follow organisations with twitter accounts relevant to your interests or…

Publisher perspectives on plain language summaries of scientific publications: An Open Pharma survey - Volume 33, Issue

Plain language summaries (PLS) of scientific publications can help to make scientific literature more understandable. In healthcare, PLS can contribute to informed decision- making by healthcare professionals, patients, and their caregivers. In late …

Ongoing patient engagement research efforts at the Centre for Pharmaceutical Medicine Research, King’s College London - Volume 34, Issue

Research efforts within the Centre for Pharmaceutical Medicine Research, King’s College London, are advancing patient engagement in medicine development and communications through evidence generation. This article presents the ongoing work of two…

President's Message - Volume 32, Issue

From scurvy to Covid-19: The role of clinical trials, and medical writing’s crucial role in the process The medical writing community is intrinsically involved in regulatory documentation that spans the entire timeline of clinical research – from…