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Kate Harold Freelance Writing, LLC

Proofreading for Precision

Published 4 months ago • 1 min read

This month’s issue includes errors unique to healthcare content and helpful reminders about writing with numbers.

Catching Errors Unique to Healthcare Content

Every industry has terms specific to it, and it’s no different in health care* where I do much of my work. Below are some edits unique to healthcare content that I’ve made recently or that I see often.

Misspellings:

  • opthamology > ophthalmology
  • tempterature > temperature
  • cryoblation > cryoablation
  • gynocology > gynecology

Style preferences:

  • anti-rejection > antirejection
  • dietician > dietitian
  • orthopedics > orthopaedics
  • x-ray > X-ray

When you come across the same edits over and over, I recommend starting a list and keeping it close by wherever you do your editing. Use it to do a double-check when you’re doing a final proof on a project.

Even if spell check helped during the initial content creation, wonky things can happen during the design and editing phases of a project, so those final proofreads are crucial.

Happy proofing!

*“Health care” is one of these industry terms that causes questions: Is it one word or two? It depends both on use and preference. Often you’ll see “health care” used as a noun, and “healthcare” as an adjective, as I did above. Moral of the story: Know your organization’s style (and make sure your freelancers do too)!

Check It Out: Writing with Numbers — Helpful Reminders

These four points from Poynter serve as a great reminder when it comes to writing with numbers. While this piece is titled Math for Journalists, it features good tips for anyone in the communications field. Take a look for some easy ways to avoid overloading your audience with too many figures in your writing.

Something You Might Not Know About Me...

I jumped on the bandwagon and started learning how to play mahjong this past month. I’m enjoying it!

Fun fact I learned along the way: The game Rummikub is based off of mahjong.

My Schedule

  • Now booking assignments for the first and second quarters of 2026.

What’s Been on My Plate

I’m currently writing about a newborn’s first visit to the pediatrician. It’s bringing back lots of memories when I took my own babies to their first appointment!

What’s up? I'd love to hear from you! Here are some things to consider sharing:

  1. What is an industry misspelling you’ve seen lately?
  2. Where do you keep your checklist of often misspelled words?
  3. Have you ever played mahjong?

Reply to this email or comment here.

Thanks for reading!

Kate Harold

Writer | Editor | Proofreader

Kate Harold Freelance Writing LLC

February 18, 2026 | Issue 17

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Kate Harold Freelance Writing, LLC

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