This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
EFORT Open Reviews: Accurate, compact information
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
EFORT is planning an open access journal that will serve not only as a platform for top publications from all fields of traumatology and orthopaedic surgery, but also to make practical information and continuing training content available to anyone interested in them.
Starting in 2016, EFORT Open Reviews will be available free of charge on the Internet. Prof. Dr. Pierre Hoffmeyer from Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève announced: we are planning not just an open access journal, but rather a ‘gold open access’ journal. That means all the articles appearing in the publication must undergo a peer review. This approach, in turn, means that the submitted articles are presented to the editorial board, which then checks the quality of the work. The article does not appear in the website of the journal until this review process approves its inclusion.
This procedure is designed and carried out in collaboration with The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery, the publishers of the Bone and Joint Journal. The editorial staff is based in London. Prof. Hoffmeyer said that both sides will benefit from the collaboration. Above all, EFORT will not have to develop additional publishing expertise.
Customarily, open access journals charge authors for the cost of the publication process. The planned EFORT journal will allow articles to be published free of charge, with EFORT footing the entire bill. The plan is to have industry help finance the journal. The interest of industry to take out ads should grow as our journal gains significance. Ideally, we would eventually stop devoting resources from the EFORT budget to the project.
In any case, EFORT will ensure that the industry has no influence over the content of the journal. The publication of sponsored articles will not be excluded completely. Prof. Hoffmeyer noted that if such articles are included, they will be clearly labeled as being sponsored.
The object is to deliver current, comprehensive information for practicing surgeons and colleagues in training, Hoffmeyer explained. We will try to do so in a way that is as accurate and succinct as possible. After all, busy surgeons do not have time to read the whole of primary literature to keep abreast of basic research. The object is to cover as large a range as possible, he said.
Hoffmeyer cited knee, hip, spine, arthroscopy, traumatology and pediatric orthopaedic surgery as key subject areas.
In addition, the journal could also touch on topics such as medical ethics, economics, metabolic diseases and many others, if they are of interest to orthopaedic surgeons. The journal is also meant to be the voice of society and to be used to publish guidelines, for instance.
All articles in the EFORT Open Reviews will be readily accessible free-of-charge and without the need for a subscription. Moreover, interactive elements are also planned, such as CME courses and certifications.
- info
- For further information, contact Editor-in-Chief pierre.hoffmeyer@hcuge.ch or Commissioning Editor a.goggins@boneandjoint.org.uk