ISMPP Highlights
ISMPP West 2020: Our Profession in a COVID-19-Impacted World
The virtual ISMPP West 2020 meeting, October 1-2, focused on the topics-of-the-day as they relate to medical publications and communications in a COVID-19-impacted world. With 126 participants, the meeting – themed The Winds of Change: Navigating Uncharted Territory for Medical Communication Professionals – was…
ISMPP Announces Steady Progress on GPP4 Guidance for Medical Publication Professionals
The International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) is honored to support the fourth iteration of Good Publication Practices (GPP4) and to announce that the GPP4 Steering Committee has made substantial progress in developing this critical document for medical publication professionals. GPP is…
Celebrating Success! Our Landmark Virtual 16th Annual Meeting of ISMPP
What started out as a live 16th Annual Meeting to be held in April 2020 evolved into plans for a virtual event held June 16-18, 2020, amidst changes in holding live conferences due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. With 379 attendees, the virtual 16th Annual Meeting exceeded ISMPP’s expectations for attendance. We celebrate that success!…

Message from Our Leadership
Robert J. Matheis
ISMPP President and CEO
News and Trends
Patient Authorship: Three Key Questions (& Answers!) for Medical Communication Professionals [Part B]
This is the second article in a two-part series on patient authorship. Part B answers two key questions to support engaging patient authors and managing related challenges, and shares practical tips to help medical communication professionals work with patient authors, ethically and effectively…
Patient Authorship: Three Key Questions (& Answers!) for Medical Communication Professionals [Part A]
As a medical communication professional, you will need to decide what YOU believe when it comes to patient authorship. What is your position on it right now? Like other ISMPP members, you may have questions about patient authorship. This is not surprising – patient authorship is an innovation in publications…
Virtual Meetings: Virtually All You Need to Know!
Do you need or want to make your meeting completely or partly virtual? Are you worried about maintaining interactivity and engagement? How should the program look and feel? Do you understand how technology can be leveraged to create impactful virtual meetings? This article describes types of technology, when to use them…
What Would You Do?
In our role as medical publication professionals, we may occasionally encounter situations in which it is not obvious how to ensure good publication practice. Have you ever wished you could consult the ISMPP membership for guidance when these situations arise? Here’s your opportunity!
What Would You Do? is a section of The MAP that presents case scenarios as an educational tool for medical publication professionals. The section provides a case scenario to ponder, and readers are invited to participate in a poll by selecting one of the listed solutions. Readers can also submit their thoughts on the scenario anonymously. The poll results, plus educational insights, are posted in a later issue for readers to digest.
POLL RESULTS: Journal Questions Medical Writer Acknowledgement & Funding
The lead author of a meta-analysis manuscript received a rejection notice from a journal that stated “…although the topic may be of interest to the readership, the Editors are concerned about the perception of bias given the statement of funding support from the sponsor and the participation of a paid, professional medical writer.” The lead author has emailed all authors, sponsor, and medical communications agency suggesting that the manuscript be revised by the authors alone so that acknowledgement of the medical writer and funding from the sponsor to support medical writing can be removed…

ISMPP (pronounced IzMap) is the only nonprofit organization founded by medical publication professionals for medical publication professionals