Podcast Stephen Levin: how to create trust in the medical information with quality stories
“At the end of the day, the only thing we have is our credibility,” says Stephen Levin, who is co-Editor-in-Chief of MedTech Strategist together with David Cassak. The magazine’s main focus is on delivering in-depth analysis of trends in the MedTech (Medical Technologies) industry, which encompasses medical devices. Leven talks about the importance of encouraging trust in medical information.
During his last visit to Dublin on the occasion of the MedTech Strategist Innovation Summit Dublin 2019, Levin sat for an interview with Sabine Louët, SciencePOD Founder. In this podcast interview, Levin shares his views on the importance of producing quality content to effectively communicate with their target audience to increase trust in medical information. Quality content is the bedrock of the magazine’s credibility and serves to build trust among its readers.
Credibility & trust in the MedTech Industry
The magazine focuses primarily on long-form articles that tell the story of how companies in the sector handle the challenges of doing business in that space. To do so, their writers provide a critical perspective on the clinical, regulatory and financing issues that the companies in the industry face. In this podcast, Levin asserts that it is by building credibility and providing content based on ‘actionable information’ that they have established trust in medical science with their readership. “What we try to do is take a 30,000-foot perspective on issues that are important to the industry,” he says. In other words, their expertise is what matters when creating quality magazine content.
Medtech (medical technologies) is a thriving industry based on innovative, life-saving and life-enhancing devices used for medical purposes. In Europe alone, the MedTech market is estimated at €115 billion and the industry employs 675,000 people, many of these through SMEs.
But along with this story of success, are the challenges regarding regulatory oversight and safety concerns over medical devices. Safety concerns over medical devices made headlines in 2018 when the scandal of the so-called Implant Files came to the fore. The concerns of many people living with such devices became front-page news, as failures in medical device regulatory oversight became obvious. Such episodes show that in-depth, magazine-style coverage is best suited to capture the complexity of the industry in a time of crisis and can still retain the attention of the industries decision makers and influencers.
Quality content formats are important for trust in medical information writing
Content format also plays an important role in providing effective coverage that satisfies readers’ curiosity.
There is something fascinating about this kind of specialist magazine format of long-form (5,000-10,000 words) articles: hard copy continues to draw a loyal audience even in the digital era. Readers see the value from a long-term perspective. As Levin explains, their readers value the fact that articles have a shelf-life; they can return to an article at a later stage for information that can be used for decision-making.
But the magazine does not limit itself to this. They have also embraced a multi-pronged content strategy suitable for digital and social media outreach. As Levin explains, “we recognise that people receive information in different ways. Who are we to tell them how they receive information?”