The Future Of AI In Medical Writing: Streamlining Content Creation And Review

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Overview

Andrew Ng, computer science professor at Stanford University, famously said, “We're making this analogy that AI is the new electricity. Electricity transformed industries: agriculture, transportation, communication, manufacturing.” The birth of artificial intelligence (AI) was aroused in 1956 during a workshop at Dartmouth College. AI has grown massively in recent years.1

The term artificial intelligence (AI) refers to computer algorithms that can mimic human intelligence.2 As health data becomes more complex and expansive, artificial intelligence can be utilized to aid the information processing and writing articles in the medical writing field. 

Writing is essential in science at every level as it helps to convey the findings beyond academia, work with multiple partners, develop funding applications, and summarise project ideas.3 The change in the era and the expansion of AI-tools is likely to change our professional lives.

In this article, we will explore the traditional medical writing and its challenges in addition to the way AI is reforming this area, and how it can affect patients, healthcare providers, and the system in general. 

The condition of medical writing today

Medical writing is an important element in healthcare communication. It includes producing a draft manuscript, reviewing and sharing scientific knowledge. This procedure has always been tight and time-consuming, to ensure the precision and clarity of medical information.4

Creating content

In the area of medical writing, the action of writing is challenging, and creating content requires producing a large different range of documents, such as research papers, reports from clinical trials, regulatory filings, patient education materials, and etc. Also, considering the general public being targeted as the main consumers of this information, legal criteria and medical science must all be thoroughly understood in order to facilitate this complicated process.

Multiple steps are included in medical writing, as follows:

  • Usually, as a medical writer, you begin by gathering and researching relevant information through a detailed evaluation of the literature, like study plans, trial results, and published works. To make sure the content is correct and current, the writer needs to work with subject matter experts like doctors, researchers, and regulatory officials
  • The next step in the writing process is to create the material through drafting, reviewing and outlining in an organised way which should be clear to the target audience and free of jargon
  • A medical writer must ensure the information written follows the guidelines and truthfully shows the results and facts

Reviewing content

It is an important step to ensure that the document's conformity, quality, and accuracy is according to the standards. The process typically contains several stages, as follows:5

  • Internal review: The document is assessed by the teams within the organisation, including medical writers, editors, and subject matter experts. They carefully make sure that it follows the criteria, and it is clear, consistent and accurate
  • External review: Sometimes, the document is also reviewed by external experts or regulatory bodies. Reviewers from other journals for journal submission or regulatory bodies for documentation related to drug approvals are examples of this
  • Revisions and finalisation: The document is amended several times in response to input gathered during the review process. Each revision seeks to fix any mistakes, respond to reviewers' feedback, and raise the document's overall standard. The document is finished and ready for submitting or publishing after all edits have been completed

Challenges in traditional medical writing 

Traditional medical writing faces several challenges that can affect its efficiency and effectiveness. These challenges include:6

  • A time-consuming process: The process consumes a considerable amount of time, as it depends on the type of the papers. There are a variety of ways to represent data-heavy documents, and there isn't a single standard format. Medical writers frequently have to perform in-depth research, study academic journals, assess data, complete quality checks, and adhere to regulations in a limited amount of time
  • The high cost: It might be costly to hire qualified medical writers, editors, carry out research, obtain scientific material, and make sure legal and regulatory criteria are met
  • The risk for human error: Manual procedures are used in traditional medical writing, which ultimately increases the risk of human error

Inspite of these challenges, the development of technology and the digital solutions are making a difference in overcoming some of these issues. Automated tools, artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms are being actively developed to help streamlining the medical writing process, reducing errors, and improving efficiency overall. 

The role of AI in medical writing

How can AI create content?

Artificial intelligence has spread through the industries nowadays. It has shown a great effect in the field of medical writing. So, we need to understand the term medical writing automation (MWA). It is simply a system that uses algorithms and techniques for natural language generation (NLG) and natural language processing (NLP) to create content.

Additionally, the services' AI-powered engines might be able to understand the context and suggest appropriate terms. The era of up-to-date technology helps in the generation of user-friendly content in the medical field. Based on its training, it provides predictions and recommendations. The growing use of AI in the fields of NLP and NLG and computer innovation can be beneficial for medical writers while producing medical papers.6

MWA system

NLP involves a multi-step method that initiates with the following:6

  • Searching and looking for specific words
  • Checking grammatical sentence structures
  • Phasing words or sentences adequately
  • Finding meanings of words
  • Comparing the meanings of different words or sentences

NLG, therefore, serves as a bridge between human language and computers. Hence, it is a process of information taking and then converting it into natural meaningful sentences which are easily comprehensible by individuals.

AI, NLP, and NLG automatically go through reams of data from all types of sources. This reads organisers—an LDL that says what's important and in what context. All this goes into a comprehensive model that can then be used for all kinds of applications—like improving medical writing to be more clear and effective for any audience of readers.6

How can AI tools be used for editing content?

AI has revolutionised the way content is reviewed and edited, providing advanced capabilities in grammar and style checks, as well as ensuring consistency and accuracy. Let's explore these aspects in detail:7

Grammar and style checks

AI-powered tools investigate the written content for grammatical and spelling mistakes and punctuation issues. Additionally, AI algorithms suggest improvements in writing style, tone, and clarity. They help writers to receive real-time feedback on sentence structure, word choice, and conciseness.7

Consistency and accuracy verification

The consistency and accuracy in content play an important role for effective communication. AI tools can assist to make sure that written content complies to the style guides, brand guidelines, or industry-specific terminology. These tools can help in detecting any inconsistencies in spelling, punctuation, and formatting. And, they can detect outdated data or any conflicting statements.7

Advantages of AI in medical writing

AI-tools have the potential to greatly smooth-running the writing and review process. These tools have a lot of benefits, as follows:8

  • Reducing the time consumed: The traditional writing has several steps and takes a long time to be achieved, the automation of AI helps to reduce the time by shortcutting the steps which will lead to time-savings. AI assists in generating a large amount of documents in a short time by offering the available resources
  • Reducing the tedious work for human writers: The reduction in the amount of work or effort required from medical writers9
  • Lowering the budgets of submission: AI has a role in decreasing the need for a large number of human tasks that leads to a decrease in the paid salaries and the arranged training
  • Diversity of the content: AI aids medical writers to create different forms of content to successfully deliver a message to the target audiences. The forms of content can include; images, videos, infographics, manuscripts and providing content that suits social media users10
  • Enhancing the accuracy and consistency: AI helps in minimising the human errors and improving quality of medical documents

Drawbacks of AI in medical writing

The usage of AI changes the aspects of medical writing and overcomes many of the challenges that faced the writer, but it still has its own drawbacks, as follows:9

  • Need for human review: AI-generated text needs to be reviewed and verified by healthcare clinicians carefully to ensure accuracy and efficiency
  • Ethical and other considerations: AI can provide misinformation, bias language, and lack of individuality and creativity, leading to homogenised content
  • Plagiarism: Any information produced from AI generators needs to be double-checked as there are high chances that the information provided is plagiarised from different sources

Summary 

Imagine being able to write more content in a fraction of the time it takes today. As medical writers, we have a special responsibility to ensure that our content is accurate, standardised, timely, and consistent. However, as healthcare data become more complex and detailed, the traditional methods we rely on can become overwhelming.

AI can be a useful tool for medical writing by aiding planning, consistency, and reduce human error. However, AI cannot always be 100% reliable as there are risks with AI producing incorrect information and lacking “human touch.” 

References

  1. Moor J. The Dartmouth College Artificial Intelligence Conference: The Next Fifty Years. AI Magazine [Internet]. 2006; 27(4):87–7. Available from: https://www.aaai.org/ojs/index.php/aimagazine/article/view/1911.
  2. Danysz K, Cicirello S, Mingle E, Assuncao B, Tetarenko N, Mockute R, et al. Artificial intelligence and the future of the drug safety professional. Drug Saf [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2024 Jun 24];42(4):491–7. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30343417/ 
  3. Grogan KE. Writing science: what makes scientific writing hard and how to make it easier. Bulletin Ecologic Soc America [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2024 Jun 28];102(1):e01800. Available from: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bes2.1800
  4. Kacena MA, Plotkin LI, Fehrenbacher JC. The use of artificial intelligence in writing scientific review articles. Curr Osteoporos Rep [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jun 24];22(1):115–21. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11914-023-00852-0
  5. Complying With Medical Record Documentation Requirements Fact Sheet | Guidance Portal. US. Dept. of Health & Human Services [Internet]. 2018 [cited 2024 Jun 28]. Available from: https://www.hhs.gov/guidance/document/complying-medical-record-documentation-requirements-fact-sheet.
  6. Nirupama Parate. Accelerating the Medical Writing Process with Automation From research to publication. In: Pharmafocusasia.com [Internet]. Pharma Focus Asia; 2023 [cited 2024 Jun 28]. Available from: https://www.pharmafocusasia.com/articles/accelerating-the-medical-writing-process-with-automation-from-research-to-publication.
  7. Top AI proofreading tools—revolutionize effortless solutions [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jun 28]. Available from: https://grammarist.com/writing-tools/ai-proofreading/
  8. Jongsma KR, Sand M, Milota M. Why we should not mistake accuracy of medical AI for efficiency. npj Digit Med [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jun 28];7(1):1–3. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-024-01047-2
  9. Mayo Clinic. AI in healthcare: The future of patient care and health management. In: Mayo Clinic Press [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2024 Jun 28]. Available from: https://mcpress.mayoclinic.org/healthy-aging/ai-in-healthcare-the-future-of-patient-care-and-health-management/
  10. Zhou Y. Drug development and medical writing in the digital world. MEW [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2024 Jun 28];28:18–21. Available from: https://journal.emwa.org/artificial-intelligence-and-digital-health/drug-development-and-medical-writing-in-the-digital-world/

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This content is purely informational and isn’t medical guidance. It shouldn’t replace professional medical counsel. Always consult your physician regarding treatment risks and benefits. See our editorial standards for more details.

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Hagar Alsayegh

Hagar is an Audiovestibular physician with extensive clinical experience in patient care. She holds a master’s degree in Audiology Science from the Faculty of Medicine at Cairo University. Passionate about making medical information accessible, Hagar pursued specialized training in medical writing to enhance her ability to communicate complex concepts clearly and comprehensively. She is eager to contribute to the Klarity Health Library, looking forward to expanding her expertise in a dynamic and professional setting.

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