Hot Topics
Archive
Explore previous Hot Topics from ISMPP Insider, each featuring curated content, perspectives, and resources on issues shaping medical publications and communications.
Join ISMPP Today!
Joining ISMPP offers numerous benefits for medical publications and communications professionals. Learn more.
This collection examines the threats confronting research integrity—and the actions publishers, researchers, and communications professionals can take to safeguard the credibility of science.
The Integrated Era: Purpose, Partnerships, Personalization
This year’s theme explores how integrating a shared purpose, meaningful partnerships, and effective personalization drive more impactful communication.
ISMPP Leadership Update: A New Role Dedicated to our Members and ISMPP Staff Advancements
Dear Colleagues, As we round out the year and enjoy the holiday season, I am writing with some very exciting ISMPP news! Our professional society continues to grow and evolve in an effort to best serve the needs of our members. To reinforce ISMPP’s ongoing commitment...
When a Bespoke AI Tool Falls Short: What Would You Do?
You are a medical writer at an agency using a pharmaceutical company’s internally developed generative AI tool to draft a manuscript reporting results from a phase 3 clinical trial. Although the tool is approved for use and initially performs well, you begin to identify inaccuracies that require substantial human correction, reducing its expected efficiency. With tight timelines, organizational expectations, and scientific integrity all at stake, what would you do?
Advancing Plain Language in Clinical Research Communications
ISMPP supports the use of the MRCT Center’s Clinical Research Glossary, a patient-centered resource that helps make clinical research terminology more understandable, accessible, and actionable—advancing clear communication, health literacy, and informed decision-making across the research ecosystem.
Slowing Down to Speed Up: Rethinking Productivity, Trust, and AI in MedComms
At the 2026 European Meeting of ISMPP, keynote speaker Michael Siller challenged a common assumption: that speed and rigor are opposing forces. Drawing on examples from history, psychology, and workplace dynamics, he argued that sustainable speed is achieved not by working harder or faster, but by intentionally slowing down to build resilience, adaptability, and trust. The result is a practical framework for navigating complexity, strengthening collaboration, and approaching AI-enabled workflows with greater confidence.
Shining the Spotlight: The Dark Side of Publishing Gets Even Darker
Predatory publishing has evolved beyond questionable journals into a complex ecosystem of paper mills, review manipulation, and AI-enabled fraud. This article explores emerging threats to research integrity and introduces the Quad P framework—Prevention, Probing, Protection, and Preservation—to help professionals identify risks and safeguard the publication lifecycle.
Why Volunteer With ISMPP? More Than Giving Back
The 2026 Annual Meeting of ISMPP takes place on April 19-22 in Washington, D.C. See you there!
Seeing Beyond Speed: Debating AI’s Value in Medical Communications
At the 2026 European Meeting of ISMPP, a lively “balloon debate” explored a simple but important question: what is AI’s most valuable contribution to medical communications? Framed around the familiar challenge of delivering work faster, better, or cheaper, the debate featured four competing perspectives—quality and trust, speed and scalability, transformational potential, and informed skepticism—and challenged attendees to rethink the tradeoffs that have long shaped the profession.