HealthNovember 14, 2022

How can contract research organizations efficiently streamline their writing process?

Professional clinical, regulatory, and scientific writers at contract research organizations need access to a vast amount of research, clinical trial data, regulatory documents, and journals. Every year, as the world of scientific data grows exponentially, finding exactly what they need among the sheer volume of information gets more challenging.

Between 2010 and 2019, the number of new drugs approved for sale increased by 60 percent compared with the previous decade, with a peak of 59 new drugs approved in 2018. In a growing, competitive industry, effectively training new members of staff is essential. More pharmaceutical products require more scientific writing and CRO services.

According to a report by Grand View Research, the global market value for medical writing in 2021 was $3.5 billion. North America dominated the market with a share of 35.6%. With global revenue forecasts for medical writing in 2030 projected to reach $8.4 billion, the need for writers and CRO services isn’t going away – it’s growing.

Ovid® helps solve the challenge of growing, disparate scientific information by bringing together multiple sources of scientific and medical data – including Embase®, Ovid MEDLINE® Advantage, Northern Light™, and EconLit – on just one industry-leading platform. Ovid gives both new and experienced researchers the tools to find exactly what they need, and to share that knowledge with their colleagues, streamlining the research process, increasing accuracy, and saving teams valuable time.

Streamlined research search strategies

Methodologically sound and reproducible search strategies are the indispensable backbone of documentation whose purpose is to determine and verify drug and device effectiveness and safety. The Ovid® platform provides a comprehensive set of features and functionality so single users and teams of searchers and reviewers can effectively manage such searches.

For example, searches can be constructed on an individual line-by-line basis or as complete paragraphs. A comprehensive range of Boolean operators and truncation options for use with inline editing is also available to easily facilitate quick scoping searches as well as assumption testing.

Similarly, inline sharing options enable searches to be shared swiftly with colleagues for collaborative review purposes, irrespective of their length or type of construction (line- or paragraph-based). Search strategies can also be easily copied into Ovid’s Search History Launcher or rendered as a single History Jumpstart link, facilitating peer group consideration and reproducibility.

Run, reference, reuse: a comprehensive collection of search filters

Nevertheless, sound, solid, and reproducible search strategies take time to build and test. The increasing diversity of systematic review types and their respective methodologies has prompted a corresponding need for assistance in the construction of subject-specific, as well as publication-specific, search strategies. When time and need are pressing, it helps to be able to draw upon the work of others.

Ovid provides easy access to a comprehensive collection of tried and tested search filters that can be called up for inspection or run directly. Where available, the filters are referenced so it’s possible to cite them.

Easy to use and reuse, the search histories can be stored offline in your word processor of choice or online on Ovid where they can be easily integrated into your own search histories, appended to your search statements, or even used for learning and teaching purposes.

Transforming support and training for new research hires

Hiring new staff is a positive indicator of growth and success. Yet, before your new colleagues can become truly effective at contributing to systematic literature search projects, they need to get up to speed on the resources and be comfortable and confident in their use.

Ovid provides a comprehensive range of tailored training services for all levels of user experience. Be it Ovid platform or database specific, we take time to work with you to tailor our training for your specific requirements. Delivered using various formats, the training sessions can be arranged for individuals as well as groups, and as occasional or regular as needed.

Ovid’s award-winning Customer Support team provides a full portfolio of support and training services to help you assess and evaluate how and why a resource or set of resources is suitable for your needs, and how these resources can support you in your business activities.

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