Online medical journal to be launched

Two Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers have assembled a 25-member editorial board of international experts to launch a quarterly online medical journal devoted to original research and commentary on the use of computer automation in the day-to-day practice of medicine.

According to its editors, the creation of Applied Clinical Informatics, the official publication of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), reflects the booming demand for information about the pitfalls and promise of such proliferating tools as electronic patient records and online pharmacy orders.

Target audiences include clinicians on the front lines already using clinical software, hospital and pharmacy executives, clinical informatics specialists and policymakers focused on economic efficiencies and safety.

"This journal will compile worldwide research and clinical experiences with medical information systems so that hospitals and other healthcare institutions can learn from mistakes that have been already made. It's a chance to do it right the first time," says Christoph Lehmann, M.D., Hopkins Children's neonatologist and director of clinical informatics. "It is designed to bridge the gap between the medical-software engineer and the healthcare provider at the patient's bedside."

The new journal is the brainchild of Lehmann, who will be its editor-in-chief, and fellow medical informatician George Kim, M.D., who will act as managing editor.

A growing number of U.S. hospitals and private physician practices already are using "paperless" electronic records, "order-entry" systems for prescriptions and laboratory tests, and electronic "checklists" for designing treatments and avoiding medical errors.

Such applications may speed up and improve the delivery and quality of healthcare, experts say, but in many cases, the Hopkins team says, the adoption of these systems has been sluggish, error-ridden and rife with unforeseen and unintended consequences and costs.

"Just as scientific publishing of medical and biological experiments helps forge best practices in surgery and drug treatments," says Kim, "we want to publish results of all the practical tests of the brilliant eggheads' ideas so that hospitals and others don't have to reinvent the wheel or conduct an experiment every time they use a new computer program."

The journal's editors have already started to gather original research, including studies and case reports for the debut issue expected to go online in December 2009. Also to be featured are: trend reports, editorials, reports of negative experiences and invited guest blogs about the latest developments in the industry.