JACR Celebrates 20 Years: What’s Next?

Ruth C. Carlos, MD, FACR, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR®), contributed this piece.

At this time in 2004, the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl and Mark Zuckerberg launched TheFacebook, now known as Facebook. In the radiology realm, the American College of Radiology® (ACR®) made a splash with the launch of JACR — our radiology profession's only peer-reviewed journal focused on health services and policy, clinical practice management, training and education, data science, and leadership. Through high-quality articles and digital extras, our goal was to engage readers in a dialogue that ultimately benefits patient care.

Now, we celebrate 20 eventful years of leading our field in strategy, practice improvement and patient-centered care. Throughout these past two decades, the JACR has become the undisputed 'must read' for optimizing radiology's role in the healthcare system. Even though the radiology publications space is crowded, JACR has made and continues to make an impact in our pillars of expertise in health services research and policy, clinical practice management, leadership, education and data science.

We look forward to continuing meaningful dialogue through expanded content and online events, such as Appropriateness Criteria patient-friendly summaries, #JACR Tweet Chats, CME articles and the Bruce J. Hillman, MD, Fellowship in Scholarly Publishing, a fellowship providing a concentrated experience in medical editing, journalism and publishing for an interested and qualified staff radiologist. The Hillman Fellowship supports talented physicians in pursuing an aspect of medical journalism as part of their careers, with an inside look behind the scenes at the JACR. Fellows have the opportunity to work with myself and the deputy editor to complete a project related to the journal while gaining hands-on experience editing and publishing. The Hillman Fellowship, a key initiative, engages individuals in the early and mid career stage to provide them with a "behind-the-scenes" view in scholarly publishing and generate a pipeline of future editors.

We anticipate an exciting next 20 years and hope to continue to provide our readers with insightful and educational information and opportunities. It has been a privilege to serve the the Journal and the radiology community at large. JACR is a platform for dissemination of trustworthy evidence to help us care for our patients in the years to come.

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