Instructions for Authors

Instructions for Authors intending to submit a manuscript to the Journal of Clinical Research, the Journal of Medical Economics , the Journal of Outcomes Research or the Journal of Drug Assessment.

Introduction

Brookwood Medical Publications publishes original research papers covering all aspects of the clinical trials industry, from efficacy and effectiveness through to efficiency. Brookwood offers a unique pledge to publish your paper within 21 days of acceptance, with each paper undergoing rigorous, independent, peer review.

Papers are published as individual articles, each bound in a journal cover. The journals are A5 size and can be customised to suit individual requirements, for example encapsulated product monographs or reprints in any language. Each paper is abstracted on the Brookwood website free of charge.

Copies of each paper are supplied to authors/sponsors, indexers (EMBASE, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, CAB Health/CAB Abstracts, Pharm-line, Cochrane Registry, ISI and others), national depositories and major libraries (including Royal Society of Medicine Library, British Library, US National Library of Medicine).

Many of the papers published appear in the quarterly compendium, the Journal of Drug Assessment, which is available on subscription.

Aims and scope

Journal of Clinical Research
The European Journal of Clinical Research and the British Journal of Clinical Research were established in 1990 to specialise in the publication of studies determining the efficacy of new clinical interventions (from Phase I through to post-marketing investigations). Together, the journals were renamed the Journal of Clinical Research in 1998. The journal now encompasses studies from many different therapeutic areas and reports the data in the form of full RCT reports, specialist reviews and meeting summaries. Short reports and letters are also accepted and published following assessment by independent reviewers.

Journal of Medical Economics
Launched in 1991 as the British Journal of Medical Economics, this journal was started by a number of individuals who were prominent figures in the field of health economics. Many of these individuals continue to be involved with the journal as members of its Editorial Board.

The journal was created with the aim of publishing high quality economic assessments of novel therapeutic interventions. Renamed the Journal of Medical Economics in 1998 to reflect its international readership and coverage, the journal publishes economic analyses (in the form of cost minimisation, cost effectiveness, cost utility, cost benefits, cost consequence, cost of illness, burden of disease), health economics methodology, discussions on policy issues, resource utilisation studies, disease management, modelling studies and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials, outcomes and clinical trials data.

Journal of Outcomes Research
This publication was launched in 1997 in response to the advances in methodology for outcomes assessments. The Journal of Outcomes Research specialises in the publication of studies which determine the effectiveness of medical treatment, involving measurements of therapeutic and/or preventative outcomes. Methods employed in these studies commonly include measures of mortality, morbidity and health status (including patient's quality of life, functional status and satisfaction with health care).

Journal of Drug Assessment
A quarterly publication publishing a range of papers covering all aspects of drug evaluation. Certain papers from Journal of Clinical Research , Journal of Medical Economics and Journals of Outcomes Research may appear in this subscription publication. In addition, a section entitled 'Models of Drug Assessment' presents reviews and analyses of various models used by organisations faced with having to prioritise drug choice in a given therapeutic area. Opinion and reviews are also presented.

Acceptance criteria

All manuscripts are submitted to external independent referees for peer review. Clinical research papers are reviewed by a medical expert and a statistician, and economic evaluations are also reviewed by a specialist in health economics.

Copies of the referees' reports are sent to the author/sponsor with a decision regarding acceptance, usually within 7-10 days of receipt of the manuscript. Page proofs will be returned at the same time, and amendments may be required based on referees' comments. It is the responsibility of the sponsor/author to make amendments deemed necessary prior to the article being accepted for publication.

Brookwood has introduced a checklist system to ensure that all information pertinent to the trial is included in the study report. The checklist aims to improve uniformity within the journals, and will provide a useful guide for both authors and reviewers. There is a separate checklist for each of the three journals.

Request for further information

We are keen to ensure that data presented in our journals fairly reflect the results of reliable studies. A questionnaire may be sent to you requesting details of the biostatistician involved in data analyses, details of ethics committee approval and patient consent, and about adherence to the principles of Good Clinical Practice.

Fees

As our journals have no revenue from advertising, authors/sponsors are liable for a non-refundable submission fee (£300) and are required to purchase a minimum of 100 copies (charged at £2.90 per page). This income has no influence on the decision regarding acceptability of a paper for publication; all papers are subject to rigorous peer review, as noted in the section on Acceptance. The cost of reprints ordered after publication carries a substantial surcharge and it is therefore in your interest to order additional copies at the time of first printing whenever possible.

Guidelines for submission of manuscripts:

Format

Three A4 size (212 x 297 mm) copies of the manuscript should be submitted, together with an electronic version on 3.5" floppy disk (most standard PC or Mac software acceptable). Please ensure you label the disk with the title of the paper and the type of software used. Manuscripts may be submitted by e-mail, but please contact the editorial office prior to submission.

Manuscripts must be accompanied by a covering letter signed by all co-authors. This should include the following:

On receipt of your manuscript we will allocate it a unique reference number which should be quoted on all correspondence.

Manuscript Content

Journals should be presented in the style recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (see Journal of the American Medical Association 1993, 269: 2282-2286).

Papers reporting the results of clinical trials should be presented as follows:

1. Drummond M. The role and importance of quality of life measurements in economic evaluations. British Journal of Medical Economics 1992; 4: 9-16.

2. Barr JT, Shumacher GE, Jones FT et al. Using decision analyses in pharmacoeconomic studies. In: Spilker B, Reams D, editors. Quality of life encyclopaedia, 2nd edn. New York: Raven Press, 1996: 456-468.

Review or research papers reporting health economic evaluations should be presented as follows:

The remainder of the paper may be structured to suit the nature of the article. Economic evaluations should contain sensitivity analyses and the source of data should be quoted. If costs are combined, a table should be provided to show individual component costs.

Spelling and punctuation

Numbers

Illustrations, diagrams and figures

Drug brand names

Drug brand names should not appear in paper titles. Ideally the brand name should only be used once in the Summary and once in the main paper, followed by the generic name in parentheses. The generic name should then be used after this. A superscript asterisk should follow the first mention only of each brand name in both the summary and the main text. In the main text there should be a corresponding footnote, for example:

* Exia is a registered trademark of Drugsco Ltd, UK

Checklist for authors submitting reports of randomised controlled trials to the Journal of Clinical Research

Checklist for authors submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Medical Economics

Checklist for authors submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Outcomes Research

Terms and Conditions

1 Brookwood Medical Publications Limited (BMP) undertakes to publish articles submitted by the authors or their sponsors provided that the content and presentation of such articles meets the criteria laid down by the Editor and Editorial Board of the appropriate journal. All articles undergo peer review; it is the responsibility of the author/sponsor to make amendments deemed necessary prior to the article being accepted for publication.
2 Publication is free of charge; clients are however required to purchase a minimum 100 copies of the published article. The costs of these and additional copies ordered at the time of publication are available on request. The cost of reprints ordered after publication carries a substantial surcharge and it is therefore in the client's interest to order copies at the time of first printing whenever possible.
3 Once a paper has been accepted for publication, the publication costs of the first 100 copies becomes immediately due. An invoice will be sent out with the page proofs and a cheque in settlement should be returned with your amendments and reprint orders. Papers will not be sent for printing and publication until this inital invoice has been settled.
4 Orders for reprints at the time of initial publication will be invoiced; payment is due immediately on receipt of the goods. For other reprint orders, a cheque for payment in full should accompany written confirmation of the order (matched with a purchase order number where applicable); printing will not proceed until payment has been received.
5 BMP reserve the right to withdraw a publication for default of payment or if the data has been reasonably shown to be unreliable.
6 In consideration of BMP accepting a paper for publication the sponsor warrants to BMP (i) that the sponsor is duly empowered by the author(s) to enter into an agreement with BMP on these terms and conditions, and (ii) that publication by BMP will not infringe the rights of any third party.
7 In consideration as aforesaid the sponsor will keep BMP fully indemnified against all claims demands proceedings damages costs and expenses made against or incurred by BMP as a result of publication of the paper whether for defamation or infringement of the rights of any third party or of any other kind whatever.
8 Papers are accepted from sponsors (that is the company or person submitting the work) on the understanding that they act as agents for the authors of each article. It is the responsibility of a sponsor to ensure that any submitted article is approved by the authors prior to submission and that any subsequent amendments are also approved by each author. BMP cannot accept any responsibility for claims by authors resulting out of a sponsors failure to obtain their agreement.
9 On giving instructions for BMP to proceed with publication the sponsor will assign to BMP all copyrights in the paper (including the right to publish in any format and in any language). Thereafter neither the sponsor nor the author shall be entitled to reproduce store transmit or otherwise exploit the paper or any part of it for profit without the prior permission in writing of a Director of BMP.
10 Proofs are sent to authors/sponsors for checking prior to publication. Only corrections to errors made in the original submission or those arising as a result of changes made during Editorial Review can be accepted. Major changes to a manuscript after page setting are liable to a further charge and possible delay in publication. BMP cannot accept any responsibility for loss or damage arising due to errors which appear in the final publication not corrected at proof stage. Please ensure that you check proofs carefully.
11 BMP reserve the right to withdraw a publication for default of payment or if the data has been reasonably shown to be unreliable.
12 BMP standard credit terms are strictly 30 (thirty) days from date of invoice. The publisher reserves the right to charge interest on monies outstanding after this date at 1% (one per centum) over the Barclays Bank minimum lending rate, to be charged monthly. Unpaid accounts referred to a third party for recovery will incur collection costs.

Editorial Board Members

Journal of Clinical Research:

  • Ms J Altman (Harpenden, UK)
  • Prof Dr JH Beijnen (Amersdam, The Netherlands)
  • Dr AA Bignamini (Milan, Italy)
  • Dr AC Chu (London, UK)
  • Dr MG Davies (Plymouth, UK)
  • Dr C Donati Milan, Italy)
  • Prof H Freeman (London, UK)
  • Prof P Freeman (Helston, UK)
  • Dr T Greenfield (Little Hucklow, UK)
  • Mr B Hansson (Stockholm, Sweden)
  • Dr G Hammad (Watford, UK)
  • Prof W Kirch (Kiel, Germany)
  • Prof C Kleinbloesem (Birsfelden, Switzerland)
  • Prof C Marriott (London, UK)
  • Dr H McQuay (Oxford, UK)
  • Dr CG Miller (Madison, USA)
  • Prof S Montgomery (London, UK)
  • Prof M Nahata (Columbus, USA)
  • Dr S Rennard (Nebraska, USA)
  • Prof NH Shear (Toronto, Canada)
  • Prof NJ Talley (Sydney, Australia)
  • Prof G Tytgat (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
  • Mr N Weir (Guildford, UK)
  • Mr M Whitford (Alton, UK)

    • Journal of Medical Economics:

  • Prof RL Akehurst (Sheffield, UK)
  • Mr M Aristides (London, UK)
  • Prof N Bosanquet (London, UK)
  • Prof MF Drummond (York, UK)
  • Mr A Duggan (Bicester, UK)
  • Dr L Garattini (Bergamo, Italy)
  • Dr F Geelen (Sauerlach, Germany)
  • Dr D J Gould (Truro, UK)
  • Dr A Haycox (Liverpool, UK)
  • Mr M Halpern (Washington, USA)
  • Mr D Jones (Welwyn Garden City, UK)
  • Dr R Knill-Jones (Glasgow, UK)
  • Mr B Lovatt (Caterham, UK)
  • Dr M Mamdani (Toronto, Canada)
  • Dr SP McKenna (Manchester, UK)
  • Dr RA Moore (Oxford, UK)
  • Ms K Nordenstam (Stockholm, Sweden)
  • Prof G de Pouvourville (Paris, France)
  • Dr NIM Scheurmier (Bath, UK)
  • Dr W Shaw (Maidenhead, UK)
  • Mr A Stewart (London, UK)
  • Mr A Towse (London, UK)
  • Mr NE Wells (Sandwich, UK)

    • Journal of Outcomes Research:

  • Dr J Bottomley (Welwyn Garden City, UK)
  • Dr WH Campbell (Chapel Hill, USA)
  • Dr G Hawthorne (Victoria, Australia)
  • Dr A Hillman (Philadelphia, USA)
  • Dr SD Horn (Salt Lake City, USA)
  • Prof M Hyland (Plymouth, UK)
  • Dr JD Jackson (Princeton, USA)
  • Dr P Kind (York, UK)
  • Dr JG Kotsanos (Indianapolis, USA)
  • Dr A Lakhani (London, UK)
  • Prof J Richardson (Victoria, Australia)
  • Dr R Wilkins (Illinois, USA)
  • Dr M Wilks (London, UK)
  • Dr R Wyse (London, UK)