The involvement of professional medical writers in medical publications

Abstract

In this editorial, we comment on the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) guidelines and the accompanying Delphi study published in this issue of Current Medical Research and Opinion. These articles deal with 'ghost writing' and the role of professional writers. We propose that the interaction between professional writers and authors is defined along the following principles: Guarantee: are the authors guarantors of the article? Advice: was the professional writer 'advised' by the author(s) before, as well as after, starting the assignment? Were the overall conclusions defined by the author(s)? Transparency: the contribution of professional writers should be acknowledged (we provide a draft statement). Expertise: does the professional writer have sufficient knowledge in the relevant specific field? The initials of these headings form the word ' GATE '. Therefore, we called them the ' GATE principles '. We also discuss suggestions for the accreditation of professional writers in specific fields. Professional writers play a useful role but this has to be clearly defined so as to achieve high ethical and scientific standards.