Journal of Viral Hepatitis, 2014, 21, 457

doi:10.1111/jvh.12269

EDITORIAL

Journal of Viral Hepatitis commencing January 2015 Dear Colleagues, The pace of change in viral hepatitis is accelerating. New drugs for chronic hepatitis C treatment are emerging in rapid succession; novel combinations are under continuous development and innovative approaches to drug delivery are building on the latest epidemiological data to improve access to these remarkable pharmaceuticals. As academic and pharmaceutical groups shift basic research resources from C to B, we can expect an exponential growth in both basic and applied HBV virology. Improving the care of patients and bolstering the science requires rapid access to the very latest information and conventional print-based media are struggling to meet this challenge. Fortunately, as the need for early access emerges, technology has provided a solution with the development of ejournals. Over the last few years, The Journal of Viral Hepatitis has carefully monitored the growth of online information transfer, and we have seen a remarkable expansion. Most of our papers are now accessed online and paper subscriptions represent only a tiny minority of our output. Our experiment with ‘online only’ papers, allowing rapid publication of important manuscripts, has shown that ‘electronic’ papers are well read and widely cited. We have therefore decided that from January 2015, the Journal will move to an all electronic form. Submitted papers will continue to undergo peer review and only a limited subset of important, scientifically valid articles will be accepted. As at present, the articles will be made available in electronic format to our large group of subscribers, and subscribers will have a range of access options including, of course, printing the

© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

files. Older readers, including this editor, will mourn the passing of the tactile pleasure of ink on skin, but the enormous advantages of timely, comprehensive, searchable papers more than offsets this loss. As we move to epublication, The Journal of Viral Hepatitis will shift the focus of its publication policy to publish more clinically based research including clinical trials (with super fast publication of critical studies), epidemiology and translational research. Papers relating to public policy and pharmacoeconomics will be welcome as these emerging areas are of increasing importance in clinical decision making. Given the large number of basic science journals (many epublication only) and the reducing demand for publication of these articles, we intend to reduce our acceptance of such papers and we will ensure that our readers stay up to date in basic research by commissioning review articles on topical scientific issues. To improve the quality and value of the journal, we will no longer accept case reports. The change to epublication and the shift to papers of immediate clinical relevance will ensure that The Journal of Viral Hepatitis continues to meet the needs of its growing readership with timely publication of practice changing papers. We anticipate an exciting decade of innovation in viral hepatitis, and we look forward to your company in this voyage of discovery. Graham Foster Editor-in-Chief

Journal of Viral Hepatitis commencing January 2015.

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