Craft a Clear Cross-Cultural Message

When the MedDRA Maintenance and Support Services Organization (MSSO) writes an email, each word must be carefully considered. This independent organization maintains and distributes MedDRA, the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities. The dictionary contains the terminology used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and international health, regulatory, and pharmaceutical industries.

MedDRA subscribers are found around the globe. Subscribers speak many different languages and come from a variety of backgrounds: medical, IT, project management, accounting, and finance. MSSO staff responds to subscriber questions and correspondence, and they review any changes subscribers suggest. Clear writing is their top priority.
                                                                                                          
The broadcast challenge
MSSO managers discovered broadcast emails were posing specific challenges. The diverse audience and the complexity of the messages, along with the varied levels of staff writing skills, provide a high potential for misinterpretation. Yet clear communication and comprehension of the MedRA’s complex medical terminology is a necessity.

MSSO needed to help its employees improve their technical and medical writing skills. It wanted to formalize its external written communications for consistent, clear information exchange. After considering myriad solutions, MSSO turned to Hurley Write, Inc.

“Fun and engaging”
Hurley Write specializes in providing customized writing courses that give professionals in business, medicine, science, and technology the skills they need to write with accuracy and confidence.

Hurley Write began onsite training of MSSO employees; over the course of several sessions, MSSO staff learned how to write and communicate more effectively. President of Hurley Write, Pam Hurley, Ph.D., analyzed writing samples using MSSO documents as exercises in the writing workshop. Hurley also taught a refresher course and educated new MSSO staff members.

“Pam was a great and motivational employee trainer, and we’ve been extremely pleased with the work she’s done,” says Patrick Revelle, MSSO project director. “She definitely made workshops fun and engaging, yet she still challenged us to really look at our writing and improve it.”

Revolutionized thinking
Since using Hurley Write’s services to improve external written communications, MSSO has revolutionized its written communications with subscribers. MSSO staff members are now conscientious of all written communications and use the techniques they gained from the Hurley Write onsite training to communicate more effectively with subscribers. This includes making effective language choices and ensuring documents meet reader needs.

Hurley Write has also helped MSSO from an efficiency standpoint, enabling staff to quickly compose documents and emails.

“Pam’s name is mentioned almost daily in our office now and [we discuss] whether the writing has passed the Pam Hurley Test,” said Patty Mozzicato, MSSO chief medical officer. “For someone who spent only three days with us, she has quite a legacy here, and we utilize the writing techniques she taught us all the time.”

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