By Leon Altman

Medical writers need to be savvy researchers. With so much health information on the web, a medical writer needs to know where and how to find the right web pages and necessary background material. Those who write materials directed at physicians need to know how to plow through clinical studies and exactly how to reference source materials on the documents they write.

But there is another, more mundane, kind of research that can make a big difference in effective medical writing and that is interviews with a target audience, such as patients or people who face a particular health issue.

That can be a challenge to the marketing people in a medical company or practice. They need to be able to find appropriate people to interview and get written permission. Then they may want to set up an interview with the medical writer. In many cases that may not be practical. So having a suitable person conduct the interview and getting the interview recorded (with permission) can be very helpful for the writer.

What a difference a good interview can make! In my experience, I’ve sifted through mounds of medical and healthcare information, and then listening to an interview, one single quote can often become the basis of an ad, web page, direct mail, newsletter or an entire ongoing campaign.

For instance, an interview I listened to with someone who suffered with rheumatoid arthritis. Her description of how a certain treatment helped relieve the pain and enabled her to get back to an activity she enjoyed and her joy in resuming that activity was the nugget I used for an entire campaign.

In another interview I listened to, a patient related something her doctor told her. The quote happened to encapsulate the benefit that my client’s medical screening service offered and became the basis for a direct mail campaign that beat the existing control.

When I interviewed an insomnia sufferer it wasn’t the description of the tossing and turning at night that struck me. Instead it was his vivid depiction of the anxiety he had about his performance at work the next day. How sleeplessness affected his job performance and, in turn, his future. The connection between job performance, career and insomnia became the basis for a highly effective campaign.

Just listening closely to good interviews can lead to more effective medical writing. Sometimes you can even come across a single quote that can help solve a difficult medical marketing challenge. After all, if good doctors listen to their patients, why should a medical writer be any different?

Leon Altman is a medical writer and marketing consultant. For more on his medical writing and marketing services, go to http://www.medicalwritermarketer.com.

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