From The College August 2006

The complete newsletter is available in PDF format, below.

Featured Article

Changing Rheumatology, One Issue at a Time
New publication will launch in November at annual meeting

David Pisetsky, MD, PhD has ambitious goals for the new newsmagazine from the ACR, which will launch in November. In a recent conversation with FTC, Dr. Pisetsky, who will serve as the editor for the new publication, laid out some of his ideas about what will make the new publication valuable for members and the rheumatology community.

“An important part of the new publication will be the focus on putting research advances-both clinical and basic- into practice in a way that is not possible in a conventional print journal,” said Pisetsky. While readers will also find news from the ACR similar to what’s currently offered in From the College, additional coverage will range from practice issues to all kinds of trends in the field - economic and political, scientific advances and more.

Bringing science to bear on practice
“Journals tend to be conservative by nature because they’re documents of record, and have an archival function to catalogue the research of a given period,” continued Pisetsky. He should know, having served as the editor-in-chief of Arthritis & Rheumatism from 2000-2005. The new publication will allow for more immediate opinions that are more personal. “Rather than commenting on a new trend or finding with ‘further study is warranted’ or ‘these results are interesting’ - we’ll get into ‘here’s what this means for your practice’,” said Pisetsky.

Asked to provide an example, he mentioned a topic that has been much in the news this year: drug safety. “While a print journal might say ‘trends indicate a somewhat increased risk of a specific side effect,’ this publication will address the practical questions practitioners want to know: How do you answer the questions your patients are asking you? What will this mean in appointments?”

These kinds of opinion pieces will be evidence- based, but they won’t deal so much with methodology as real-world impact. Notes Pisetsky, “we’ll help the reader to determine: If I should worry, how should I worry?” Importantly, that information will come directly from the membership. “We’ll feature a different group of opinions and voices than you’d see in a print journal, such as especially skilled practitioners who can translate complex issues into clinically applicable concepts, rather than just interpret research.”
Asked what the publication will offer to health professionals, Dr. Pisetsky had this to say: “This kind of interpretative content should absolutely be helpful to health professionals, too. With this new publication, we’re addressing rheumatology practice by whoever does it. We’re interested in creating more identity for people who do things in the field, whatever their discipline.”

Another bold goal: over time, the newsmagazine could have an impact on the way rheumatology is practiced. “Current developing fields, such as outcomes and performance measurement and drug safety, are based on voluntary reporting. By using space in these pages to give background about these fields in terms of important advances from a personal point of view and showing the impact participation in these fields can have, we hope to grow the number of people who participate,” he said.

Reader focused, member-driven
Summing up his vision for the new piece, Pisetsky said: “This is a publication of the membership, so I’m very keen to learn what members want to hear about.” The editorial board working on the publication with Pisetsky will be a mix of members from various backgrounds: varied research or practice environments, and people whose research impacts most on practice. In part, their job will be to generate ideas, and to have a sense of what’s the most important, relevant information for the reader.
Beyond this group, Pisetsky hopes the membership will get involved: “I want the creation of the publication to be interactive. I definitely want members to contribute and write about the issues that are close to their practices, that they care about [see sidebar]. I’m excited to have the opportunity to do this - it’s a great idea for the College and for the membership.” s

The inaugural issue of the soon-to-be-named publication will be mailed to members in November 2006 and available on site at the Annual Scientific Meeting. Regular monthly issues will be distributed beginning in January 2007. If you have a content idea or would like to contribute to the new piece, see the information in the sidebar with this article.