The Pacific Northwest Medical Journal, a publication of the Pacific Northwest Institute of Medicine, is a medium for communication with and by healthcare professionals and lay persons who share an interest in health and healthcare policy affecting the lives of Pacific Northwest. It publishes six times a year: January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, and November/December.

In addition to its topical focus on a single set of health and healthcare problems in each issue, The Journal will consider for publication articles relating to the science, practice, and history of healthcare in this state. We are especially interested in papers on the present, past, or future practice of the state's health professions; other topics relevant to the health of Pacific Northwest will be considered. Recommended length is 3000-4500 words. Prospective authors should feel free to discuss potential articles with the editors. The Journal is particularly interested in receiving letters to the editor addressing questions or problems covered in previous issues.

Manuscript Preparation

Prepare papers according to the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals" (PNMJ Med 1991;324:424-8), with the following exceptions: (1) no running title is needed; and (2) report measurements in metric units; use of the International System of Units (SI) is optional.

All manuscripts submitted for review must contain a brief structured abstract including the following (when relevant): Objective; Study Design; Data Source(s)/Study Setting; Data Collection Methods; Intervention; Principal Findings; Conclusions; Relevance. Papers submitted without a structured abstract may be considered incomplete and returned to the author.

Submit a cover letter with a disk (3-1/2" floppy, zip, or CD) containing the double-spaced text, preferably in Microsoft Word for DOS. Also enclose three hard copies of the manuscript for review purposes. The letter should indicate that the article is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

All abbreviations and acronyms-which should be kept to a minimum-must be fully defined at the first point of usage in the text.

Keep in mind that the Journal's readers are not specialists in a single field, but represent a broad spectrum of involvement in healthcare practices, management and policy development. Be brief, clear, simple, and precise.

Manuscript Review and Editing

Each submission is evaluated by at least two qualified reviewers. Decisions to publish are made by the editors based on reviewers' comments, the editors' own evaluations, and the content of future issues. We edit accepted manuscripts for clarity, style, and conciseness. Authors are sent the edited articles for their review and approval before publication. Manuscripts not accepted will not be returned.

Copyright to published articles is held by the Pacific Northwest Medical Journal and the Pacific Northwest Institute of Medicine. However, authors may copy and distribute their own contributions in any way they see fit. Any article reprinted from the Pacific Northwest Medical Journal must carry a credit line indicating that it appeared in the Pacific Northwest Medical Journal and is reprinted with permission.