Top-Tier Medical Journals

Medical societies, associations, and professional organizations publish medical journals to share new research, clinical findings, and policy developments with their members and the health profession at large. Organizations rate medical journals by their impact factor—a measure of how widely scientists cite the journal—by dividing the number of times in a single year that scientists cited articles published in the previous two years by the number of articles the journal published during that two-year period. Top-tier medical journals have impact factors from nearly 20 to 50, a rarity.

JAMA

• JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, is a weekly medical journal that has been in circulation since 1883. JAMA's website notes the journal is the most widely circulated in the world, between its print version and the online version, which is available free of charge to subscribers in developing countries. With an impact factor of 31.7, the journal is one of the most-cited. JAMA publishes original research papers, reviews, editorials, correspondence, and policy viewpoints covering every specialty and subspecialty of medicine. The journal notes it accepts approximately 9 percent of manuscripts submitted for publication. In addition to the weekly scientific articles and clinical case reports found in the print journal, the online version of JAMA also features a weekly continuing medical education quiz, multimedia index and a regular podcast called "Author in the Room," which features an article author from each issue discussing his findings.

Annals of Internal Medicine

• The American College of Physicians established the Annals of Internal Medicine in 1927. Published twice a month, the journal is one of the most cited in the world, evidenced by its impact factor of 17.5. In addition to publishing articles about new, original research in internal medicine and its subspecialties, the Annals of Internal Medicine also publishes review articles, practice guidelines, health policy pieces and commentary about the practice of medicine. More than 17,000 physicians serve as volunteer reviewers for articles submitted to the journal; these reviewers ensure objectivity, scientific rigor and quality. The journal notes its acceptance rate of articles about new, original research ranges from 6 to 8 percent. The journal's readership includes the members of the American College of Physicians—approximately 130,000 physicians around the world—as well as individual and institutional subscribers.

New England Journal of Medicine

• With an impact factor of 50, the New England Journal of Medicine is the oldest, most cited general medical journal in the world, according to Dialog Datastar, an online database index. Published by the Massachusetts Medical Society since 1812, the New England Journal publishes new issues every week that feature new, original research, perspectives, case reports, review articles and policy essays, in addition to practice guidelines and clinical editorials. Its website offers medical teaching cases, continuing medical education articles, an image library and a career center, in addition to the scientific content found in the print journal. The journal notes it has more than 200,000 subscribers, including members of the Massachusetts Medical Society, institutions and physicians around the world.