From Taking First Steps to Hitting Our Stride.

This issue marks the beginning of the second year in the life of Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes (MCP:IQ&O). This is a good time to reflect on what goals we have achieved, and what strategies might help us take the journal to the next level.

By all criteria for a new online-only, open-access journal, MCP:IQ&O is doing exceptionally well. Since we opened the journal for submissions in February of 2017, we have processed 110 manuscripts and have published 71 articles (including 14 articles in the current issue). In keeping with our stated intent of expanding the scope of clinically focused information published under the Mayo Clinic Proceedings (MCP) brand, the articles published in MCP:IQ&O have covered a broad spectrum of topics spanning from medicine over medical education to preliminary reports of new diagnostic techniques. Reflecting MCP:IQO’s mission statement of “building upon innovations in research, advancing the quality of medical and surgical care, and promoting optimal patient outcomes,” the published material has unfailingly addressed the domains of innovations, quality, and outcomes across this wide range of topics.

Of course, publishing even the best content is in vain if the content has no audience. In this regard, the editors are very happy with the attention our journal is receiving from readers in many different countries. As of May 1, 2018, our website has had more than 13,000 page views from almost 6500 unique visitors from all over the world, including North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia. As of this writing (late July 2018), the most frequently read articles addressed improving patient care experience by directing attention to hiring, training, and developing clinical and nonclinical-support services, outcomes and predictors of mortality in acute alcoholic hepatitis based on data from a large prospective multicenter observational study, and developing a clinical decision support tool for familial hypercholesterolemia based on physician input.

Sincere thanks are due to all who have contributed to our success. Our parent journal MCP is currently the main source of submissions to MCP:IQ&O. Among the articles published in MCP:IQ&O over the last year, 83% were referred from MCP. The manuscripts referred to us from MCP, with or without reviews, are typically referred because they are a better editorial fit for MCP:IQ&O’s aims and scope, not because of concerns about their quality or validity. In keeping with the high standards for referral, the acceptance rate for manuscripts referred to us from MCP is nearly 100%. We are very grateful to the leadership of MCP, in particular its editor-in-chief, Dr Karl Nath, for the thoughtfulness and extra effort that the referral process requires. We are also extremely grateful to the entire editorial board of MCP who, to help jumpstart MCP:IQ&O, volunteered to serve in double duty as the editorial board for our journal for the first year. Here, we acknowledge with gratitude Dr Lori Erickson, who has agreed to continue as deputy editor of MCP: IQ&O beyond its first year of publication. We are also exceedingly grateful to the MCP editorial staff, who are regularly going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that the coordination between MCP and MCP:IQO and the manuscript referral process run smoothly and expeditiously. Finally, our publisher Elsevier is providing invaluable guidance for MCP:IQ&O based on its track record in publishing leadership and its insights in, experience with, and practice of operating open-access journals.

Our priorities for the next year will build on our successes over the last year. We will continue to judiciously assemble a separate editorial board for MCP: IQ&O that reflects our previously stated mission, to include experts from fields not traditionally covered by MCP. The main task of the editorial team of MCP:IQ&O will be to not only uphold the high standards of acceptance for publication in MCP:IQ&O but also to help with increasing the proportion of direct submissions to MCP:IQ&O by attracting, recruiting, and contributing manuscripts that relate to their areas of expertise.

We do not anticipate, at this point, major changes to MCP:IQ&O’s current operating procedures, which aim to provide benefit to authors everywhere by seamless integration with MCP and a competitive timeline from submission to publication. No affiliation with Mayo Clinic is required to interact with MCP:IQO. The journal remains open to submissions from authors everywhere through our manuscript submission portal at ScholarOne (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/mcpiqo). Direct submissions to MCP:IQ&O should be prepared to the MCP:IQ&O Instructions for Authors. The journal endorses the health research reporting guidelines promulgated by the “Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of Health Research” (EQUATOR) network, and we encourage authors to adhere, while preparing their manuscript, to the EQUATOR network guidelines pertinent to the article category of their submission. Note, too, that the journal adheres to the ICMJE guidelines on all ethical issues.

Your comments and inquiries about potential topics and articles may be directed to me at mcpiqo@gmail.com. The journal is looking forward to another year of serving our authors and readers.