Medical Research in the Digital Age

Medical research has always produced information and insights at a rapid pace, even when individual projects may seem stalled. However, with the rise of the digital age, medical research has become even more efficient in producing and sharing results.

For Medical Affairs (MA) teams, this presents both opportunities and challenges. On one hand, access to more quality data and research leads to better insights. On the other, it can be overwhelming, and make MA teams feel like they are drowning in information. To manage this, choosing the right Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution is crucial.

The Growth of Medical Publishing

The volume of scientific and medical research publications has increased rapidly over the previous decades, and this trend shows no signs of slowing down. Global output of scientific publishing was 21 percent higher in 2019 than in 2015, according to UNESCO’s 2021 Science Report.

These increases are not limited to wealthy countries alone. UNESCO data reveals that “upper-middle income economies” are rapidly closing the gap in research spending. Additionally, the group of nations participating in scientific publishing is expanding, along with collaborations among researchers across borders. 

In 2022, the United States ranked first in output of health sciences-related articles, writes Bianca Nogrady in Nature. China closely followed, and in the natural sciences, China outranked all other nations for the first time.

Today, scientific research is conducted and published all over the world. Millions of scientific papers are published annually. As Ajay Satpute, Director of the Affective and Brain Science Lab and Associate Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, puts it, “It’s impossible to read everything. Absolutely impossible.” To keep up with the vast amount of research, cutting-edge tools are essential.

Choosing Tools for Knowledge Management

The digital revolution made it easier than ever to generate scientific and medical knowledge,  stay updated on the work of other scientists, and share published results. Digital technologies can also offer solutions for managing the overwhelming amount of information available.

Using digital tools can help Medical Affairs teams and other professionals identify the most relevant information in a sea of publications. For instance, a study by Li Yan and Wang Zhiping demonstrates that choosing the right analytics to navigate academic publishing can lead to better results.

Pubstrat MAX Can Streamline Your Entire Medical Communication Process

Anju’s Pubstrat MAX is a web-based solution designed to help MA teams sift through the deluge of scientific publications. It can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection and browser. This platform streamlines the entire process of medical content development, from planning and submission to citation.

Some benefits of employing Pubstrat MAX include:

• Streamlining the sharing of drafts and managing comments. Share, review, comment on, and edit drafts from anywhere in the world. Bring collaborators and reviewers together in one place, eliminating the risk of lost drafts or missed deadlines.

• Focusing on the right audiences. By integrating with Journal Selector and Conference Authority, MA teams using Pubstrat MAX can target the most appropriate audiences for their work. They can utilize conference deadlines and journal lead times to plan the entire evolution of a publication, from first draft to final publication. 

• Integrating every step into a single dashboard. Keep track of upcoming deadlines and the sources that need to be cited. Pubstrat’s dashboard also provides a comprehensive overview of the progress of each publication.

By using an all-in-one tool for finding and managing scientific publications, MA teams and other life sciences professionals can ensure that they are dedicating their time to the work that is most relevant to their own efforts.

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