How to Hire Healthcare Writers: Red Flags, Must-Haves, and Clinical Requirements

When hiring someone to write medical content, there are a lot of factors to consider. Should the writer be a freelancer or part of a writing agency? What makes a healthcare writer stand out from the rest? What qualifications should they have? All of these factors affect the accuracy of written content, which is especially important for medical topics. Let’s take a deep dive into what to look out for when hiring a healthcare writer.

Why Should You Hire a Healthcare Writer?

Imagine you’re in the hospital, about to go home. You need to know what to do after surgery. Would you ask those questions to ChatGPT? A random staff member? Or would you ask your nurse? Your nurse has extensive knowledge from their training and experience. They have tips and tricks to help you remember instructions. It’s easier to remember “don’t lift more than a gallon of milk” than “don’t lift more than 5-10 pounds.” Nurses are relatable and make human connections. 

It’s the same when you look to hire a healthcare writer. They’re not just writing. They’re bringing their insider knowledge of healthcare directly to your clients.

Medical Accuracy Matters

Writing about medical topics is not like writing an opinion piece. Medical knowledge is based on research. Your clients need to know the most current information. If you publish inaccurate medical information, you risk losing client trust. A healthcare writer has the clinical expertise to provide those facts.

Healthcare is Highly Regulated

Healthcare is a highly regulated industry. You want someone with insider knowledge. They can help you avoid legal pitfalls or compliance issues. These could be HIPAA privacy rules or protections for participants in research. Healthcare writers like nurses are aware of these healthcare regulations.

What Nurse Writer Qualifications Should You Look For?

So, you decided to hire a healthcare writer. Will any healthcare writer do, or is there anything else to look out for?

Must-Have Qualifications for Nurse Writers 

Your healthcare writer should have the following qualifications to build trust and credibility:

• Healthcare Degree and License: Look for writers who hold an accredited healthcare degree and an active professional license. Some writers will hold a certification in their specialty.
• Relevant Clinical Experience: They should have clinical experience that correlates with the content you want. For content about childhood illnesses, a pediatric nurse is an excellent choice. If your topic is on healthy food choices, hire a healthcare writer who is a registered dietician.
• Credible Source Use: Qualified healthcare writers cite reputable, evidence-based sources to support their claims.
• SEO and Ranking Impact: Google describes an acronym E-E-A-T, which impacts SEO. It stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Qualified healthcare writers fit all four items. By hiring a healthcare writer, you’re improving your Google ranking.

Red Flags to Watch For When Hiring Healthcare Writers

Look out for these red flags when hiring a healthcare writer. 

• No Credentials: If they don’t have any credentials, take a pause. That raises concern about whether they’re legitimate. 
• Lack of Experience: The healthcare writer should have experience in the topic they’re writing about. Question anyone writing about a topic very different from their clinical experience. For example, outpatient nurses aren’t likely to have detailed knowledge of NICUs. 
• Limited Legal Awareness: Healthcare writers need to show awareness of important medical laws, such as HIPAA. They shouldn’t share specific patient examples with identifying information. 
• Overreliance on AI: They should not be relying on AI to write content. AI can lead to misinformation.
• Poor Writing Quality: Healthcare writers need to be able to write clearly. This skill includes accurately translating medical jargon into something easy to understand. If writing is unclear, people may make decisions that affect their health because of a misunderstanding.

What Can You Ask Your Healthcare Writer?

You found a healthcare writer, and you want to vet them. What should you ask? Ask for samples of their work. You’ll see whether their tone matches your brand’s image and get a sense of their medical knowledge. You can also check whether they cite reputable sources. Ask them about their understanding of the specific topic. See if they’re familiar with the writing style you use. Do you want interviews from subject matter experts? If so, dig into their experience with interviewing. All these questions will help narrow down who you decide to hire.

Freelance Writer vs. Healthcare Writing Agency

Trying to decide between hiring a freelancer or a healthcare writing agency? Let’s look at the pros and cons. 

Working with a healthcare writing agency may save you a lot of time. They have pre-vetted writers with known experience. You can often find all the writers you need in one place. If you’re looking for something very specific, you may need to hire a niche freelancer. Still, working with a healthcare writing agency may help you scale your content. You have a reliable group of writers, and if one writer needs time off, there’ll be another writer you can work with. You can work with more than one writer on big projects. Additionally, healthcare writing agencies have internal editors, so you won’t have to rework a rough draft, which may happen with a freelancer.

Not sure where to find qualified healthcare writers? Start by checking out a nurse writer database like Write RN. Here you can hire vetted healthcare writers. These writers are licensed RNs with real-world experience in many specialties. You can read about each nurse writer’s qualifications and search for whether they have experience with patient-facing or B2B content. You can even read some samples of their work. These nurse writers have helped many companies build their clients’ trust.

Do I Need a Clinical Reviewer?

Even if your writer is a healthcare professional, you’ll want a clinical reviewer. There are a few reasons for that. 

• Helps to ensure content is medically factual
• Supports legal and regulatory accuracy
• Reduces bias and ensures ethical standards

Overall, a clinical reviewer will improve the quality of the content.

Finding Success with a Medical Writer 

Maybe you’re working with a doctor’s office or a healthcare startup. You need some medically accurate information for your clients. How can you inform them and keep their attention? Well, the solution is not turning to AI content. Nor is it hiring the first generic copywriter you can find. You’ll have the most success if you hire qualified healthcare writers. They should have healthcare degrees and licenses. Look for writers with real-world experience. You can use freelancers or a healthcare writing agency. Then, use a clinical reviewer to ensure quality content. Write RN writers have the clinical expertise and writing experience you need to reach your readers. Look for these healthcare writer traits, and your clients will stay hooked.

References

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2025, September 23). Statues and regulations. Retrieved January 19, 2026, from https://www.cms.gov/priorities/key-initiatives/burden-reduction/administrative-simplification/hipaa/statutes-regulations

Google Search Central. (2025, December 10). Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content. Retrieved January 21, 2026, from https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content

Office for Civil Rights (OCR). (2024, February 27) The HIPAA privacy rule. US Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved February 6, 2026, from https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/index.html

Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP).  (2025, February 11). 45 CFR 46. Retrieved US Department of Health and Human Services. February 6, 2026, from https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/regulations-and-policy/regulations/45-cfr-46/index.html

Spearing, E. R., Gile, C. I., Fogwill, A. L., Prike, T., Swire-Thompson, B., Lewandowsky, S., & Ecker, U. K. H. (2025). Countering AI-generated misinformation with pre-emptive source discreditation and debunking. Royal Society Open Science, 12(6), 242148. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12187399/