Publishing in scholarly journals is an important aspect of medical research. There are numerous peer-reviewed, highly reputable journals in which once can publish research. However, many health care organizations are choosing to launch their own publications, adding to the number of possible places to find research from the field. Although it may not seem that the scientific community needs yet another journal, there are several important reasons why these organizations choose to launch their own.
The Benefits of Medical Journals
Medical journals provide a place to share important research with the rest of the medical community. Health care organizations that perform large quantities of research find it beneficial to publish their studies themselves, rather than relying on the larger journals. They can have more control over the published work, as well as draw attention to smaller studies that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Many of the health care organizations with their own journals still encourage their employees to publish in the other larger journals. They do not try to compete with the larger scientific and medical journals. Instead, they hope to supplement the findings of these larger journals. The larger scientific journals often focus on large-scale studies with a significant impact on the medical community, sometimes leading to the smaller studies being lost to obscurity. However, these smaller studies still offer valuable information to the wider medical community. By offering a forum for publishing these often overlooked studies, the journals provide information that could lead to significant scientific achievement and advancement.
Niche Audiences
The journals published by these health care organizations are often smaller, so they can more easily focus on specific areas or even specific audiences. For example, a journal might choose to focus on practicing physicians rather than researchers, such as the new journal by Aurora Health Care. Choosing a specific focus of the journal can also help the health care organization build its brand. For example, if the journal focuses on publishing studies in a particular field, such as cardiovascular health, then the associated health care organization will build its reputation as the place for cardiovascular disease care.
Increasing the Health Care Organization’s Profile
An in-house journal will also increase a health care organization’s overall brand and profile, regardless of the focus. By having a journal highlighting their own research, as well as providing a medium for researchers to publish their studies, a health care organization can create a reputation as a top research institution. This increases the organization’s brand recognition, as well as its reputation in the medical community. Becoming a well known and respected research institution leads to the ability to hire the best research and medical staff, as well as bring in more patients. It also provides a space for more scientific research and discovery.
Creating a journal is easier than ever now that companies can rely on digital-only versions. There are numerous benefits to the company and to the scientific community at large. It is no surprise that more and more companies choose to create an in-house publication to highlight their findings and research. It is an easy way to build their reputation while furthering scientific study.
