On 2015 May 12, Melissa Vaught commented:

The systematic review described by this protocol has been published: Galipeau J, 2015

On 2014 Jun 05, Karen Woolley commented:

I look forward to the results of your systematic review. I fear the evidence base will be limited, but that finding would be important in and of itself.

In your efforts to identify the effectiveness of training, I hope you are able to examine the extent of training conducted by and for professional medical writers. A robust international certification (not just a certificate!) program has been introduced ie, candidates must qualify to undertake an exam on about 150 questions related to ethical and effective publication practices. If they pass, candidates gain the Certified Medical Publication Professional credential, which must be re-earned every 5 years.

I hope your search strategy or the discussion in your paper also addresses the emerging (albeit limited) published evidence that professional medical writers can help enhance publication speed, promote adherence to CONSORT requirements, and reduce the risk of publication misconduct. A recent peer-reviewed publication concerning current industry publication practices indicates how such training can PREVENT publication misconduct by educating authors and sponsors about unacceptable practices (and leading to the withdrawal of requests to do the wrong thing).

The most obvious way to enhance publication practices may be to enlist (and appropriately disclose) the support of a publication professional. Sometimes we miss the obvious.

Professor Karen Woolley

Disclosures: Researcher of ethical publication practices, Director of not-for-profit organisations focused on raising standards for and certifying publication professionals, paid trainer and provider of ethical and effective publication services...happy to provide additional disclosure details or a copy of my ICMJE standard disclosure form.

On 2014 Jun 05, Karen Woolley commented:

I look forward to the results of your systematic review. I fear the evidence base will be limited, but that finding would be important in and of itself.

In your efforts to identify the effectiveness of training, I hope you are able to examine the extent of training conducted by and for professional medical writers. A robust international certification (not just a certificate!) program has been introduced ie, candidates must qualify to undertake an exam on about 150 questions related to ethical and effective publication practices. If they pass, candidates gain the Certified Medical Publication Professional credential, which must be re-earned every 5 years.

I hope your search strategy or the discussion in your paper also addresses the emerging (albeit limited) published evidence that professional medical writers can help enhance publication speed, promote adherence to CONSORT requirements, and reduce the risk of publication misconduct. A recent peer-reviewed publication concerning current industry publication practices indicates how such training can PREVENT publication misconduct by educating authors and sponsors about unacceptable practices (and leading to the withdrawal of requests to do the wrong thing).

The most obvious way to enhance publication practices may be to enlist (and appropriately disclose) the support of a publication professional. Sometimes we miss the obvious.

Professor Karen Woolley

Disclosures: Researcher of ethical publication practices, Director of not-for-profit organisations focused on raising standards for and certifying publication professionals, paid trainer and provider of ethical and effective publication services...happy to provide additional disclosure details or a copy of my ICMJE standard disclosure form.

On 2015 May 12, Melissa Vaught commented:

The systematic review described by this protocol has been published: Galipeau J, 2015