Everything You Need to Know Before Choosing the Right Medical Editing Services
Blog Highlights
- Medical writing warrants a uniquely designed editing support system focused on subject matter expertise, knowledge of reporting guidelines, familiarity with regulatory standards, and strong language and technical skills.
- Medical editing balances technical accuracy with layman terminology to make medical papers accessible to clinicians, patients, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders in the healthcare industry.
- Look for services that offer stringent fact checking coupled with target journal formatting compliance through the support of specialized field experts.
Jump to Contents
Medical Editing vs Academic Editing
What Does Medical Editing Service Include?
Why Choosing the Right Medical Writing Service Matters
How to Choose the Right Medical Editing Service?
Things To Avoid While Choosing Medical Editing Services
FAQs on Choosing Medical Editing Service
What is Medical Editing?
Medical editing is a specialized field that involves a rigorous evaluation approach with detailed technical and subject-specific assessments of medical papers to make them submission ready for medical journals. Unlike other academic writing, medical writing is a niche field that caters to a wide range of audience with specialized content formats. So why shouldn’t it require a uniquely focused editing?
Medical Editing vs. Academic Editing
Scientific papers discuss various subjects and are typically based on analytical experiments. On the other hand, medical papers focus only on medical and healthcare related topics, often reporting findings based on doctor-patient interactions, clinical studies, drug interventions and testing, etc. Therefore, the editing approach must differ for the two. Here are a few key differences between editing medical papers and other scientific papers.
| Feature | Medical Editing | Academic Editing |
| Target audience | Clinical professionals, patients, healthcare stakeholders, and regularity bodies like FDA | Researchers, journal editors, peer reviewers, and other scientists and academics |
| Content type | Presents clinical facts, treatment outcomes, regulatory updates | Primarily shares new knowledge based on experimental testing |
| Language and style | Balances accessibility to patients and other stakeholders with technical precision | Objective and data-driven with a focus on ensuring replicability |
| Structure and format | Format varies across documents like case reports, clinical studies, informative leaflets, medical brochures, regulatory dossiers | Often follows the IMRaD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) |
| Type of document | Journal papers, clinical trial protocols, educational materials, patient leaflets, regulatory documents | Journal articles, research and review reports, white papers |
| Required skillset | Medical editors should have good understanding of reporting standards, regulatory guidelines, and pharmacovigilance vocabulary | Scientific editors show competency in data assessments and research methodology evaluations |
| Target publications | Medical journals, healthcare platforms | Mostly academic journals and conference proceedings |
What Does Medical Manuscript Editing Service Include?
One of the key necessities for medical manuscripts is fast publication because any new developments in research must be communicated with the medical fraternity in a quick and effective manner. So, a medical editing service should
- Maximize the impact of your medical research
- Eliminate grammar, language, and word usage issues
- Maintain technical accuracy when finalizing the manuscript
- Improve the clarity, coherence, and flow of the manuscript
- Ensure clear and effective communication of ideas
- Provide high-quality specialized editing tailored for your research area
Why Choosing the Right Medical Writing Service Matters
Hiring a medical writing and editing service is to entrust your research in the hands of correct experts. You need someone with the required subject-matter expertise along with strong writing skills to manage the complex information involved in medicine and healthcare content.
A common prerequisite would be to look for services that pair you with editors qualified in medicine, life sciences, or healthcare combined with experience in scientific or medical writing. You should also check whether the editors are certified by the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences (BELS) since they can offer insightful feedback that align with your goals.
Another factor that influences the choice of medical editing and writing service is the scope of service. Does it include individual services or do you receive end-to-end support in terms of research, writing, editing, and project management? See if you can make the most of their in-depth expertise in all forms of medical writing.
Usually, a team of experienced medical writers, scientific directors, medical manuscript editors, medical proofreaders, and publication managers with advanced degrees and industry experience can shape your medical paper such that it speaks to the right audience and creates the intended impact.
How to Choose the Right Medical Editing Service?
The competition to get published is intense. With journals strengthening submission guidelines by adopting stringent rules and regulations, finalizing a medical submission warrants technically precise editing by experts and specialists in the subject area. Here are ten key features of a competent medical editing and proofreading service:
1. Look for Subject-Matter Expertise
Of course top editing services have expert editors working for them. But does your manuscript get edited by the right experts?
Check the scientific credentials of the editors. This is often present in the “Know Your Expert” or “Meet our Expert Editors” section of a medical editing service website. Check whether the editors have medical degrees, BELS certifications, and are specialists in your subject area.
For example, if your medical paper explores a new technique to diagnose cervical cancer, there is an overlap of two subject areas: gynecology and oncology. Your assigned editor should understand both these fields to give you comprehensive subject-focused feedback. So, ensure that the editing service has a track record of assigning well-chosen editors.
2. Check the Type of Editing Offered
Medical writers need help at different stages of medical manuscript preparation. The first round of editing is typically an in-depth evaluation involving sound technical checks and thorough language editing. At a more advanced stage, you may only require proofreading and formatting.
The best medical editing for your paper typically depends on the current quality and extent of edit needed for your manuscript. Options like Standard Editing, Advanced Editing, Premium Editing, and Scientific Editing are common in top editing services. See what is uniquely offered in each level of service and choose the one that suits your requirement.
3. Add-on Parameters with Essential Services
The fundamentals of any edit includes
- Comprehensive language checks
- Verification of scientific accuracy
- Compliance with journal formatting requirements
- Tracked changes highlighted in the edited manuscript
- Detailed comments on the modifications made
- Cross-checking accuracy and format of references and citations
But what else do they offer? Is there post-acceptance support? Do they create or format artwork? Can you enhance your research promotion plan with expertly crafted graphical abstracts? Look for these add-on services that give you a holistic support until, and even after, publication.
4. Specialized Medical Formatting
Several formatting styles like APA, MLA, Chicago Manual of Style are available for preparing research papers. Medical papers, however, often need to follow the guidelines set forth by either
- the International Committee of Medical Journals Editor (ICMJE),
- the American Medical Association (AMA) style guide, or
- the selected target journal.
Therefore, the editing service you choose must specifically offer medical formatting to ensure that the manuscript meets required submission guidelines.
5. Document Type Support
Sometimes, you don’t need journal formatting but the content should be formatted for a specific document type. For instance, a brochure or a leaflet will have a much different format than a research paper. So look for services that offer formatting for the type of document you need and perhaps even support you in designing the finished product.
6. Verify Experience with Medical Journals
Check whether the medical manuscript editing service has supported authors to specifically publish in medical journals. See if the service is experienced in publishing in top medical journals like The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), British Medical Journal (BMJ), and other specialty journals like the CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians or the European Heart Journal.
This matters because medical journals often have submission requirements that differ from other academic journals. So, even if the service provider is known for academic editing, look for a service that specializes in medical manuscript editing and proofreading.
7. Ask for Sample Edits
Check the sample documents edited previously. These should give you an idea on how the medical editing service approaches working with medical papers and whether the quality matches industry standards.
Another factor that lets you know about quality is real client testimonials. Reach out to your peers and professors to know more about the medical editing services they have used in the past. You may even ask fellow researchers in your network, perhaps on LinkedIn, about their experience collaborating with medical editors.
8. Turnaround Times
Rapid turnaround times are always a blessing, especially if you need papers ready under tight deadlines. Check whether the medical editing service offers realistic delivery speeds with high-quality edits.
9. Review Pricing and Transparency
With different levels of medical editing, the pricing plans also vary. Most services specify the rate on a per word basis.
For example, Editage’s Advanced Medical Editing service begins from ₹4.03 per word, whereas the Scientific Medical Editing Pro service start from ₹18.97 per word. But do not simply go by the rates. Check what each service entails; in this case, the latter offers an in-depth edit and review of your medical manuscript by a senior science editor, a managing editor, and a highly experienced peer reviewer to help you get published in 61 days.
You may also check whether there are medical editing packages and add-on services that you can avail. Discuss with your client manager to receive a customized service pack that caters specifically to your requirements.
10. Check Confidentiality and Data Security
Confidentiality of your research must be prioritized by the medical editing and proofreading service. Check the policies on training editors to handle sensitive documents and signing confidentiality agreements before partnering with the service providers.
You should also confirm that appropriate data security protocols are in place. For instance, Editage implements ISO 9001:2008 certified data security processes, wherein the documents are managed securely through an online job management system. This means that only the client manager and the editor working on your medical manuscript can access your confidential documents.
Things to Avoid While Choosing Medical Editing Services
Here are a few red flags to watch out for when choosing medical editing services.
No Confidentiality Policy
Medical manuscripts include sensitive information like clinical trial details, results of new drug intervention tests, intellectual property details, and patient information that need to be protected. Avoid collaborating with medical editing services that do not provide transparent confidentiality policies and are not strict about following non-disclosure agreements with their editors.
Poor Communication and Support
Collaborating with professional medical editors warrants effective and timely communication. You want to have a solid, reliable support system with client managers and medical editors who are genuinely interested in making your manuscript a successfully published paper.
See client reviews and ask your peers for their opinion on how accessible the customer service was at different stages of medical manuscript preparation and publication process. If there are multiple negative experiences shared repeatedly with no effort made from the service provider’s end to correct this, stay away from them!
Refuses Sample Edits
Professional medical editing and proofreading services often include sample edits on their website. Additionally, you may request them to share other sample edits or even ask for papers that have been successfully published in medical journals with the support of their medical editors.
If they outright refuse to share any samples without providing justifiable reasons, reconsider your collaboration with them.
Does Not Reveal Editor Qualifications
It is better to verify that the editor is qualified and certified to work on your manuscript. Again, editors’ profiles are typically shared on their website to maintain transparency. If they refuse to reveal editor qualifications or use vague sentences like “Our experts will work on it” and “It will be in safe hands” when you request to view editor credentials, rethink whether you wish to proceed with the collaboration.
Guaranteed Publication Claims
This is the biggest red flag! No one can guarantee publication in any journal regardless of the level of editing expertise. So, if the service provider promises 100% success in publication even before initiating the service, stay away!
What you should look for instead is whether they assure a comprehensive edit and end-to-end support for submitting your medical paper. You can check out Editage’s medical editing and proofreading service to fast track your manuscript preparation for journal submission.
FAQs on Choosing Medical Editing Service
1. What does a medical editing service do?
Medical editing service helps polish your paper’s language and eliminate all grammatical and typographical errors while ensuring that appropriate terminology, tone, style, format, and medical writing conventions are all followed. Medical editing and proofreading services enhance your manuscript’s impact by improving its structure and logical flow.
2. Who should use medical editing services?
Authors who want to enhance the impact of their medical manuscript should opt for medical editing services. If you are fairly confident of the organization of the content and simply want an expert eye to identify potential causes of rejection on time, use medical proofreading services.
3. What should I look for in a medical editor?
- Medical editors must not only be experts at proofreading, organizing, and evaluating the submission readiness of complex medical research studies but should also be passionate about science communication to ensure that your findings are presented in an impactful manner.
- Medical editors must have advanced medical degrees, BELS certifications, and have experience of working in specialized subject areas.
- They must be adept at accurately interpreting and improving manuscripts so that critical medical information is disseminated with precision and clarity.
- They should also format manuscripts as per journal guidelines and help you prepare a medical paper that stands out from the rest in terms of presentation and language quality to increase your chances of getting published in your target medical journal.
4. How long does medical editing take?
The delivery time often depends on the level of editing, length of the medical manuscript, and the complexity of research. In case of highly urgent deadlines, some delivery plans can cater to medical editing requests within periods as short as 8 hours. However, depending on your budget, requirement, and document word count, it is better to choose a feasible turnaround time that gives you high quality edit.
