Patrick SullivanClarity without sanding off the truth
I'm a health content strategist, editor, and writer. Since 2015 the work has been healthcare only: helping health systems, publishers, and the agencies between them explain complex topics without dumbing them down or overclaiming.
- Writing and editing since 2009
- Health content only since 2015
- Staff writer to editorial director
- Thousands of expert interviews
Why healthcare
Because it's where bad content does real damage and good content actually helps somebody. A confusing discharge page isn't a branding problem — it's a 2 a.m. problem for a scared caregiver. After six years of writing and editing across every desk that would have me, I picked the beat where the stakes justify the care. That was 2015. I haven't left.
Why strategy, not just more articles
Because I kept watching good writing die downstream: no plan for what to publish, no owner, no review path, no maintenance model. The fix usually isn't another article, it's a system. It's deciding what to publish and why, then building the process that gets clinical expertise through review and onto the page.
The teams it works best with
Health systems and hospitals. Healthcare agencies that need an embedded strategist or quiet white-label fulfillment. Research institutions, medical associations, patient education teams. The common thread: real expertise, a serious review process, not enough hours, and a need for senior judgment without another full-time hire.
The standards
Plain language without dumbing down. Evidence over enthusiasm. Claims stay conditional until the source supports them. People-first language, because words shape how patients see themselves. Structure that respects how people actually read when they're worried. Nothing ships that can't survive SME, clinical, and compliance review.
What the journalism years built
From 2009 to 2015 I worked on a variety of beats. Then I spent a decade creating health content for agencies, health systems and national outlets. Along the way I held every position in an editorial org chart, from cub reporter to executive editor. More than a thousand interviews teach the questions that get the usable answer, to respect what the evidence does and doesn't say, and to ship on deadline. That's the toolkit. Healthcare teams are where it's pointed now.
Where AI fits
AI runs in my production every day — research support, drafting assists, QA checks — with human editorial judgment at every gate. I publish an AI-in-medicine brief built on a pipeline I designed and operate myself, so when I tell a healthcare team what AI can and can't safely do in a content workflow, it comes from running one, not from a slide. No autonomy. No machine-written medicine. Guardrails, documentation, and an editor holding the keys.
Have a problem worth talking about?
Five minutes of intake. An honest read within two business days — even if the answer is "you don't need me."