Maine Med debuts state's only peer-reviewed medical journal

Courtesy / Maine Medical Center Maine Medical Center in Portland has debuted a peer-reviewed medical journal, which is available online at no charge.

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By Staff

Maine’s largest medical center has published the first issue of the state’s only peer-reviewed medical journal.

The Journal of Maine Medical Center, an open-access publication, is now available at no charge here.

The journal is dedicated to original research in the health sciences, according to a Maine Med news release on Monday. The inaugural issue includes 14 articles on topics such as the impact of physician gender on obesity care, and innovative ways to help patients decide whether to obtain colorectal cancer screening.

The 637-bed medical center in Portland will publish the journal biannually, according to the release. But the frequency may increase, according to a note in the first issue from Dr. Bob Bing-You, editor-in-chief and Maine Med vice president of medical education.

“We have had healthy and vigorous interest from submitting authors. So much so that we expanded to a quarterly publication schedule and are even considering a monthly publication,” he wrote.

The journal is now accepting submissions for its second issue, according to Maine Med.

Peer-reviewed journals have long been an authoritative source of information in medicine, and there are thousands of them. Peer review is a process in which a panel of unpaid, outside experts vets submitted articles on the basis of their scientific merit, accuracy, relevance and other criteria.

Unlike the Journal of Maine Medical Center, the vast majority of peer-reviewed journals are published by professional associations. The Massachusetts Medical Society produces one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious publications, the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Maine Med journal is also unusual in that is an open-source publication, allowing free, public access to its content. Traditionally, medical journals have charged expensive subscriptions or site licenses.