Quality in Primary Care Open Access

We have come to the final issue of 2006 and I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers and contributors good wishes of the season.

This year has seen an increase in the number and quality of submissions received by the journal. The articles we have published have been of a very high standard due to the hard work of both Authors and Reviewers. We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank all our Authors and Reviewers for their work and commitment throughout this year and to say that we look forward to their ongoing support in 2007. A list of peer reviewers is included below.

I would also like to thank members of our Editorial Board which has also seen some changes this year. Professor Martin Roland left the board last spring to take up his new additional role as Director of the National School of Primary Care Research. We would like to thank him for his work and contribution to the journal during his membership of the Editorial Board and wish him well in his new role. We are also delighted to introduce some new members to the editorial board. They are Terri Harding, Secretary of the United Kingdom Federation of Primary Care Research Organ-isations, Maxine Offredy, Reader in Primary Care at the University of Hertfordshire and Richard Hays, Professor of Medical Education at the University of Keele. We have also increased the membership of the International Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal and extend a warm welcome to Peter Szilagyi, Pro-fessor of Paediatrics at the University of Rochester, New York (United States), Moyez Jiwa, Professor of Primary Care at the Curtin Institute of Technology, Perth (Australia) and Davis Balestracci of Harmony Con-sulting in Portland, Maine (United States).

We have received over 70 submissions over the past year, with 20% of these coming from countries other than the United Kingdom, including the United States(6), Canada (1), Mexico (1), Mainland Europe (2) and Australia (2) and the Far East (3). Of those articles that we received over the previous 12 months, excluding commissioned articles and editorials, around 50% were accepted or accepted subject to revision. Some studies which were initially rejected after peer review were subsequently accepted for publication after major revision of the paper following recommendation by the editor or peer reviewers. It is a credit to the efficiency of our peer reviewers and journal office that the average times from submission to first re-sponse (three days), in peer review (18 days), from submission to initial decision (27 days), and from submission to final decision (53 days) have been exemplary for a quarterly journal. We are continuing to strengthen the processes of the journal, most recently through membership of the World Associ-ation of Medical Editors.

We are also planning some special editions of the journal for next year including ‘Patient Perspectives in Quality in Healthcare’ (Guest Editor: Patricia Wilkie) and also ‘Commissioning for Quality Improvement’ (Guest Editor: Steve Gillam). If you are interested in writing an article related to these themes then please submit your article in the normal way or contact the editorial office.

In the forthcoming year we hope to improve and develop the journal with your continued help and support.

Reviewers in 2006

Alison Dunkley                                                                            Kamlesh Khunti

Alison Morton                                                                             Keith Stevenson

Andy Meal                                                                                    Kieran Walshe

Ann Spaight                                                                                  Maxine Offredy

Azhar Farooqi                                                                              Melody Rhydderch

Brenda Poulton                                                                           Michael Gordon

Catherine Smith                                                                          Michael Moore

Charlie Brooker                                                                           Moyez Jiwa

Christine Johnson                                                                       Nigel Sparrow

David Cunningham                                                                      Patricia Wilkie

David Kernick                                                                              Paul Milne

Geoffrey Meads                                                                          Paul Twomey

Hilton Dixon                                                                                 Rachael Spencer

Ian Squire                                                                                     Robert McKinley

James Jarrett                                                                                Ros Kane

Jane Bethea                                                                                 Ruth Reilly

Jane Dyas                                                                                      Sara Owen

Janet Walker                                                                                Sarah Redsell

Jeremy Miles                                                                               Steve Gillam

Jo Middlemass                                                                             Tim Stokes

John Wilmot                                                                                 Willie Hamilton

Judy Smith