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Outsourcing medical manuscript writing to India

chillibreeze writer —Sneha A

Why outsource at all?

Amidst the growing outcry against outsourcing, companies are still offshoring their work to India. What is so enticing about this trend that blue-chip companies want to invest in the land of snake charmers and elephants? How can people from a non-English speaking country give satisfaction-guaranteed services to Raj and other international companies? Why are companies, big and small, outsourcing the whole or parts of their operations to an offshore site, when they can have their services delivered closer home?

A closer look at the growing demand for India as an offshore destination for virtually all businesses can answer the If’s, But’s, How’s, and Why’s of outsourcing. It all stems from cost effectiveness as outsourcing is proven to reduce overhead expenses. According to previous comparative studies conducted by the International Data Corp (IDC), employee related costs like employee benefits, recruitment, supervision, training and regular salary, equipment obsolescence and depreciation were much less when companies outsourced to developing countries. The other impressive feature of outsourcing is the attitude of the people working on your job. Job security breeds complacency! Often, employees slacken their deliverables like quality, timelines and process awareness and refuse to “go the extra mile”.

Once you outsource, you are free to focus your energies on functions that can be done only by you, leaving the essential, but non-core functions to professionals who take complete responsibility for the work given to them. You also have the advantage of having experts in a large variety of fields rather than the homogenous pool in your company.

Why outsource to India?

Ok, so you have decided to outsource some work. But where would you outsource it so that you can maximize the benefits of outsourcing?
When outsourcing, the important points to remember are the labor pool, costs, infrastructure and expertise available in the preferred countries.

India tops the list of preferred countries for outsourcing because of the impressive labor pool. India produces over 2 million English-speaking graduates annually. English is the operative language in India and most of the urban and semi urban Indian youth speak English not only at work, but also among family and friends. This gives Indians an edge over their South East Asian counterparts. The typical salaries of these graduates range from $3,500 to $12,000. The metropolitan cities of India have reliable infrastructure. Bangalore, the ‘Silicon Valley’ of India boasts of impressive infrastructure, enticing several Fortune 500 companies, who have set up not just Business Processing Outsourcing (BPOs) but also Knowledge Processing Outsourcing (KPOs). Indians have been recognized all over the world for their excellent work-ethics, such as commitment to work, trustworthiness and discipline being the hallmarks.

Hello, Chillibreeze

In the midst of this intellectual and business prowess is Chillibreeze, a young and fast growing content-development company started in June 2004. Chillibreeze has a large network of freelancers, over a 100 writers, and 6 employees who manage the work done by these freelancers. Chillibreeze uses the Internet to market and sell its services to a global audience. After proving themselves as travel-writers, research-writers, book-writers and e-publishers, it has now forayed into the controversial area of medical writing.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts

Medical writing has been receiving a lot of attention during the past few weeks, due to the uproar from scientific communities that pharmaceutical companies employ unidentified writers to write their publications but publish them with the names of well-renowned physicians. They feel that this kind of promotional writing of a product and the playing up of the particular disease that it is supposed to treat, can mislead other physicians who refer to these journals. The opponents say that if a study conducted by a physician has to be published, none other than the physician is best suited to author the article, because the ghostwriters, who write on behalf of the physician, will stilt the message to favour the company that is paying them.

While following these sensational media exchanges, I asked myself a few questions:
Is it possible for a physician to write a manuscript himself and get the same published in a top-rated journal?

Yes! But at what cost? The physician may be able to give the most unbiased opinion about the product. But medical manuscripts do not just list the finding(s) of the study. They give all details of the study objectively. It may be more difficult for a physician to write a reader-friendly, unbiased article, after being soaked in the study for months. Anyone who has attempted to write a professional article knows about the time and effort that goes into drafting and re-drafting the same. Also, different journals have a different set of guidelines and rules for publishing. Is it fair then to demand that brilliant physicians around the world spend their valuable time drafting articles in order to get them published? Would it not make better sense for these physicians to focus on their core competencies of treating diseases or making discoveries?

So who is best suited to write a medical manuscript - an employee of the company or a freelance writer? Recently, I had an argument with a colleague. She said that the inference is the most important section of the manuscript, because it influences the readers. I asked her, “Is the aim of the medical manuscript to influence or inform the readers?” She seemed confused.

Medical writing is meant to be informational and objective. A writer, who is an employee of the company, is more liable to make the product sound promotional than a writer who is not a part of the company. Companies pay freelance writers for their time, effort and skill and cannot influence them as they would influence an employee.

An employee writer partakes in the company’s profits and losses in terms of salary hike, promotions and so on. A freelance writer, on the other hand, has several companies as clients and hence has a more objective approach to writing, which is exactly what science journals and scientific communities require.

An article has more credibility if it has the name of the investigator as the main author, rather than the name of the clinical project manager of a company. Similarly, it is better to have the names of unattached writers, rather than writers who are regular employees of the company.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article.

So, how do you get in touch with experienced freelance medical writers?

Chillibreeze has a network of qualified and experienced medical writers with excellent writing skills, statistical and pharmacokinetics knowledge, an awareness of pharmaceutical industry specific documents and guidelines. Our medical writers are either qualified doctors or talented medical writers who were previously employees of pharmaceutical companies. They can give your results appropriate interpretations with a high-level of scientific accuracy.

Chillibreeze writers are known for their ability to go the extra mile in guaranteeing satisfaction. Our medical writing services strive to offer you timely high quality scientific documents.

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—About our writer:

Sneha says," Sailing towards my destination on the rocky currents of life with a book in my hand, loved ones by my side, a song in my heart, and a smile on my face…that's what describes me best."