Contracted Benefits

• Freelance medical writers may sign contracts for work assignments from larger publishing houses or industry journals, but in general the freelancer is seen as an independent contractor working in their own business. Because of this, freelance medical writers in business for themselves must provide their own life and health insurance along with any appropriate business-related insurance costs for home office business liability and automobile, if necessary. One of the great benefits of hiring freelance medical writers, as perceived by employers, is the fact that employers aren't required to pay for insurance and other benefits extended to full-time employees.
  
  

Flexibility

• In exchange for giving up the piece of mind that comes with a contracted regular salary, freelance writers are given much more flexibility in their work schedules. Instead of going to work everyday at a central office for a scheduled period of time, the freelance medical writer receives a copywriting or research assignment and a deadline to have it handed in by. As long as the assignment is completed by the deadline, the freelancer is free to work on it whenever. The extra work involved in building a freelance medical writing business, such as tax concerns and other administrative duties, requires a freelancer to be driven in his career and put more hours into his work than a regular salaried employee.
  
  

Employer Benefits

• Aside from the eliminated costs for health insurance and retirement plans, freelance medical writer employers enjoy a few other benefits when using freelancers for projects. Hiring a freelance writer to work from a different location frees up office space at the business headquarters while increasing productivity. Freelance writers are also adept at creating quality work with minimal supervision, cutting down on the amount of time needed to guide the worker's efforts. The freelance market also affords the employer some flexibility: if the project has to be completed swiftly, there are often freelancers looking for work that can devote their time and energy right away.
  
  

Other Benefits

• Freelance medical writers do have a few additional resources to help them out in their daily work lives. The American Medical Writers Association does maintain a few resources for freelance medical writers, including the AMWA's Freelance Directory which lists the information of current AMWA members looking for freelance medical writing work. Even though freelance writers don't often collect benefits, they can begin charging more money with experience and eventually end up making more than salaried workers. (Working as a freelancer also allows a medical writer to choose their own projects; a freelancer may be copy-editing articles for a medical journal one day and providing advertising copy on nutritional supplements the next.
  
  

Insurance

• Freelance medical writers often find it hard to obtain the insurance they need to protect themselves in case of injury or legal issues as employers don't extend these benefits in freelance contracts. Freelancers do have resources for obtaining affordable health insurance plans through membership with industry writing organizations. Members of the Authors Guild or the National Federation of Press Women are eligible for members-only professional liability insurance, which protects authors in the case of a lawsuits for libel, copyright infringement or other legal issues. The National Association of Science Writers offers health insurance with vision and dental coverage to members of its organization.