From the Editor's Desk

David E. Beck

The Ochsner Journal, like the New Orleans metropolitan area and the Ochsner Clinic Foundation, is in transition. While parts of the region have returned to the new “normal” and many areas are rebuilding (often more slowly than we would wish), the Ochsner Health System has significantly expanded its base with the acquisition of hospitals in Kenner, on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish, and in uptown New Orleans. These developments will increase our ability to serve our patients and to add to the institution's financial strength. We anticipate that our Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Patrick Quinlan, will share his vision of the future of Ochsner in our next issue.

In addition to the Journal's new cover, this issue sets a new direction for The Ochsner Journal, moving it from a topic-centered peer-reviewed publication based on invited articles to a peer-reviewed, regional medical journal. We anticipate publishing the Journal on a quarterly basis and hope to provide our readers with interesting and valuable material. The majority of the Journal's content will be devoted to original peer-reviewed articles that cover the spectrum of medical science. Additional features will include book reviews of texts written and edited by Ochsner staff and alumni, and other texts that are considered of interest to our readers. We will also publish a limited number of case reports and reviews. In addition to disseminating information on unusual disease processes or novel management, these reports will provide an opportunity for our trainees to commence and develop their publication efforts.

The Ochsner Journal will continue to present information on future educational events in the Gulf South and highlight the professional activities of our staff and trainees.

To assist our readers in meeting their continuing medical education (CME) requirements, CME credits can be earned from the Ochsner CME department by reading selected articles and completing the forms provided at the end of each issue.

The Ochsner Journal is also available online at www.ochsnerjournal.org. The electronic version is downloadable and allows indexing of previous journal articles and authors. If you would like to be added to our mailing list for the print version, please send your name and address to the Journal office.

I look forward to serving as the new Editor-in-Chief and working with our new editorial board and journal staff. We encourage the submission of original articles, editorials, or case reports to the Journal office. We hope you find The Ochsner Journal useful, and we invite your comments and critiques.