SEO Medical Writer

Writing medical content for the online market is not as complex a task as it is made out to be. A good writer does not necessarily make for a good medical writer, as there is a tendency to either embellish upon irrelevant points or ramble on around the topic without offering the user much value. The reason that a significant portion of the medical content online is so weak is that writers lack a basic understanding of the three fundamental medical sciences – anatomy, physiology and pathology.

Medical content does not have to be written by a medical doctor, although this helps. It does, however, require the skill of a writer who is familiar with the basic medical sciences. If a writer lacks a thorough understanding of these concepts, he or she is unlikely to deliver pertinent points to their readers in an easy-to-understand format.

Good medical content, especially that which is written by a practicing health care professional, is often informative yet succinct. The reason for this is that any professional working with patients on a daily basis has an understanding of what information is pertinent for the patient and will relay it in a manner that is simple to comprehend for the average reader who is not medically inclined.

An Approach to Medical Writing

What are you writing?

You can divide your average medical content into clinical writing and consumer writing.

The concept of consumer writing is simple. Here you are writing content for the consumer market – informing, educating and advising consumers on health related matters. This is not about marketing a product or service or writing press releases. A serious and ethical medical writer usually does not offer product review and press release writing services, which often falls into the arena of copy writing. Consumer writing nevertheless does make mention of products or services but in a manner that is educational, not promotional.

Clinical writing, not technical writing for medical professionals, is about creating content for readers in a manner that is educational and informative but also helpful. Internet readers are constantly searching for information on health care – whether it is on health products or medical information – to allow them to understand their condition or make a crude diagnosis.

While some readers are quite ‘clued up’ about their ailment or have a basic understanding about their disease, most readers still lack the knowledge to effectively comprehend medical information. This is where the skill of a clinical medical writer comes in.

Target Market

Who are you writing for?

Always understand your target market. If you are writing for medical students and doctors then medical jargon and technical information is necessary and appreciated. This is technical writing and not clinical, nor consumer writing.

But most writers are constructing content for lay people – the average Joe. Assess your topic carefully. Who will find this information pertinent? Who will be searching for this information? What does the reader want to know or gain from the article?

As a writer, you always have a goal or objective – inform, educate and/or advise. Understanding who it is that you are writing for will allow you to construct your content appropriately.

Medical Content Structure

Where do you start?

Start at the beginning with your 5W’s and 1H – what, where, why, when, who and how.

In most medical content, you will begin with the ‘what’ and then progress from there depending on which aspects are relevant. The ‘what’ defines the concept that is to be explained and outlines the theme of the article. It is always your starting point, unless you need to approach the content from a specific angle.

Simply, the 5W’s and 1H of writing can be deciphered in the following manner in medical writing.

• What = Definition. Introduction.
• Where  = Anatomy. Signs and symptoms.
• How =Pathophysiology.
• Why = Causes.
• When = Duration of condition. Risk or contributing factors.
• Who = Prevalence and/or incidence.

In part 2, you will learn how to layout your draft and construct your final content which is search engine optimized.