Do you have the right tools for the job?



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When I first started writing medical content I basically just created or collaborated on an outline and after team review, necessary edits and approval, I began writing. Armed with a subscription to a well-stocked medical library and up to date word processing software I possessed all of the tools of the trade. Fast forward over the years and I have had my office customized by clients, became entrusted with proprietary data on security laptops borrowed for the length of projects and rapidly decommissioned before the next assignment, passports to attend international meetings, security access to data, clearance into NIH meetings, and dozens of industry and healthcare stakeholder conferences, meetings, private panel discussions and endless teleconferences across a variety of timezones.

So what is in my toolbox? I thought I would share a few things that travel with me and others that I find indispensable to my role in developing medical content and  healthcare analytics and data journalism.

On the road...

By trial and error here a few things that I always have in my travel bag. I used to lug around a briefcase but ever since Tableau Conference 2014 when we received the most resourceful backpacks I have quickly adapted to a more casual approach. Just so you know, the pockets even have pockets.

• MacBook Pro: I realize that not everyone ascribes to the religion of Apple but I am so happy in my rose-colored glasses that I can't see any of you.
• iPad: Quite often showing up with a laptop no matter how inconspicuous is a pain and just gets in the way of engaging and being present. I tend to use the iPad and sync everything to the laptop once back in my hotel. And think of the money you save by downloading a few movies to watch instead of the hotel overpriced offerings that you are likely going to sleep through anyway.
• iPhone: The camera function and audio have been upgraded and I find that I can get pretty decent sound quality while on the road to be available for last minute meetings or quick phone calls. I also rely on the mapping apps, podcasts, calendar, and Evernote to keep my office humming along from wherever I am.
• Back-up charger for phone: If you attend conferences you must have been gifted one of these and they are spectacular. If not, be on the hunt.
• Last but not least is a projector. Yes. You heard me right. I can't tell you how many times this has saved the day. One advantage to the Apple integration is that I can just plug it directly into my iPhone, iPad, or laptop and  BOOM I am sharing high quality images on the wall of a hotel room or for the faint of heart, an actual screen.
• As a triathlete I also look forward to morning runs on new trails, hotels booked based on proximity to lap pools, or a fitness center with 24 hour access. When traveling to the west coast I typically swim, work for several hours, and have breakfast before the alarm goes off at 8 a.m.
• If you are a frazzled traveler and never see the light of day during busy meetings I suggest you find something you enjoy to pursue in every city. There never seems to be enough time for me to visit every museum collection but I am a champ at the museum gift shop perusal.

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Show me something good...

Bread and butter...

I am happy to elaborate on any of the software tools that I keep coming back to but I am not going off on that tangent here. I do a lot of different writing but for the bigger projects I like to use Scrivener.

I am working on a few book projects and I like to pinball back and forth depending on new data showing up in a RSS feed or in one of the many blogs that I follow. Another type of content that I develop is a hybrid between a whitepaper and a blog. I usually work with a variety of clients that have pretty specific short- or long-term goals so I constantly gather information across all media that might resonate with our narrative and brand dynamic. Content creation has evolved into something so much more dynamic than just a bunch of PDFs to review and integrate into a flat communication.

There are quite a few sources of data to explore that can also help round out discussions on what is happening in the real world in real patient populations. More times than not, lead investigators will even share pre-publication insights or provide you with a gratis PDF of recent work.

A big part of my professional time is often spent developing or refining presentations. I know it is tempting to reach for the shiny new object like Prezi but trust me on this one, unless you are going to spend a significant amount of time learning the art of an effective presentation please spare us all the vertigo of the zoom in, zoom out, and spinning travesty. My best suggestion is to take a platform like Powerpoint or Keynote and perfect it with insights like those provided by Duarte. Although you can hear the despair of audiences subjected to slide after slide in a boring presentation that doesn't need to be the case if you just prepare and break out of the templates and create something meaningful and clear.

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I love my blue yeti for conference calls, podcasts, or just high quality Skype calls that I might want to record and integrate into my website down the road. It is important to have a tool for decent sound quality especially if like me you work remote to most of your clients.

I also use a Mac native application, GarageBand to do quick edits
on any audio files that I create that will be repurposed. Eventually I might invest in something a little more professional but for now it fills the need.

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Tableau Fast Data Analytics

Since deciding to be an independent content creator and insight  analyst I have invested a few years into learning some basic coding skills and refreshing my years of statistics. If you too want to be able to use data to inform your content development I think Tableau is the best data visualization tool on the market.  The only limitation is that there really isn't a modeling capability so if you work with HEOR data you still need to be able to access some of the more evolved simulation and modeling tools such as MIST. 

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Workflows continuously evolve depending on projects or collaborations. The challenge of working with physician experts across a variety of disease states in medical education, healthcare policy, advisory panels, and even monographs or whitepapers is a much more fluid enterprise and if you have the ability to stay current on a few modest technologic advances you will be rewarded with efficiency and shared success across a variety of evolving platforms.