Adam Jacobs

Contributions

A medical writer's guide to meta-analysis - Volume 25, Issue 3

Meta-analysis is a statistical technique for summarising the results of multiple studies in a quantitative manner. It should not be confused with a systematic review, though in practice the two are often found together. The main pitfalls with…

Medical Communication - Volume 25, Issue 1

Poacher turned gamekeeper Medical writing is a collaborative process. Medical writers seldom write about their own research. Typically other people do the research, and the medical writer writes about it. Whether the writing is for a study report…

Fifth EMWA freelance business survey - Volume 25, Issue 1

Following surveys in 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2012, the fifth EMWA Freelance Business Survey was conducted in 2015. 181 respondents, most based in Europe, completed the survey. The findings indicate that freelance medical writing and related activities…

Ghostwriting prevalence among AMWA and EMWA members (2005 to 2014) - Volume 25, Issue 1

Ghostwriting, defined as undisclosed substantial contributions by medical writers, is considered to be unethical by the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA), EMWA, and other professional associations.

In the Bookstores - Volume 23, Issue 2

Deadly Medicines and Organised Crime: How big pharma has corrupted healthcare by Peter Gøtzsche; Radcliffe Publishing, 2013. ISBN: 978-184619-884-7 (paperback). 24.99 GBP. 310 pages. Mastering Scientific and Medical Writing: A Self-help Guide by…

Good pharma - Volume 22, Issue 4

Drugs companies publish only a fraction of their results and keep much of the information to themselves. Drug companies are ‘debasing’ drug trials whose publication in journals can apparently confer scientific approval. Merck had fought for years to…

In the Bookstores - Volume 22, Issue 1

Bad Pharma is the latest book by the well-known anti-quackery campaigner Ben Goldacre, and attempts to explain to us that medicine is broken. Despite the title, he criticises not only the pharmaceutical industry, but also regulators, doctors,…

EMWA's position on ghostwriting - Volume 22, Issue 1

The European Medical Writers Association would like to make it clear that, contrary to what you may have read in a recently published popular science book, it is not a ‘ghostwriters' association’. EMWA is an association for professional medical…

Developing a treatment for ovarian cancer - Volume 21, Issue 1

Ovarian cancer is a really nasty disease. Although, like most cancers, it is curable if caught early enough, in practice it is not usually diagnosed until it is too late for curative treatment. It initially responds well to treatment and patients…