My vision for JACR

Abstract

To think is to differ. —Clarence Darrow The first question most people asked me when I told them that I had given up being chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of Virginia to begin a new journal for the ACR was, “Do you think radiology and radiation oncology need another journal?” The question was often asked with real interest, at other times with total disdain, and sometimes with genuine concern for whether I might have lost my mind—or lost my mind again. Unfailingly, I answered the question the same way: “Yes, and here’s why…” The crux of the explanation as to why the Journal of the American College of Radiology is needed lies in part in what the journal will not do. It will not publish basic, translational, or clinical biomedical research. That set of functions is extremely well handled by our traditional journals. The other, more important part of the explanation is what JACR will do. It will develop a unique niche that is not well covered by these other journals. It will publish material on topics that are the principal interests of the ACR: clinical practice, practice management, health services research and policy, and education and training as these topics pertain to diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine, interventional radiology, and radiation oncology. JACR will address its goal of becoming a unique and valuable journal by publishing material that is of practical importance to practitioners in an engaging format. About half of each issue will be devoted to original, peer-reviewed articles on subjects important to physicians, physicists, and individuals involved in the enterprise of imaging and radiation oncology. As examples, in this first issue, you’ll read articles about how to improve the governance and business operations of your department, the convergence of factors that has led to the current malpractice crisis, and what the future might hold in designing mechanisms to improve the quality of radiology. There is the first in an extensive series of articles about self-referred imaging and how to combat it in your institution. Along with this first issue, you have received a supplement that describes in plain language what is this mysterious “molecular imaging” that you have been hearing about and why molecular imaging will be increasingly important to your practice over the next decade. The other half of each issue will be composed of columns and opinion related to the important issues that affect us. For instance, in this first issue, you can read the first of Dr. Michael Pentecost’s monthly columns on federal policy initiatives that will affect our practices. Dr. Richard Duszak introduces his bimonthly column on coding and reimbursement. Dr. Richard Gunderman provides his insights on organization, leadership, and other elements critical to practice that too often elude attention. And Drs. Peter Dean and Peter Gotzsche engage in a spirited point-counterpoint over the value of screening mammography in reducing breast cancer-related mortality. The point is that I wish for JACR to engender both thought and debate. JACR should challenge you on issues of both current and future importance. It should broaden your understanding of the role of radiology and radiation oncology in the greater arenas of health care and society. It should become an invaluable resource for how you practice radiology and radiation oncology. And ideally, you should wish to participate. Write an original article! Declare your opinion on a topic related to our specialties! Respond to something you have read in JACR with a letter to the editor! Most importantly, you should enjoy reading JACR. As ACR Chair E. Stephen Amis, MD, told me when he entrusted me with the responsibility of developing JACR, “I want JACR to be the kind of publication that you unwrap and start reading on the way back from the mailbox.”