Drugs in Context 

History

Drugs in Context was first published in 2003 with the aim of informing and improving disease management by providing health care professionals (HCPs) with a peer reviewed, authoritative and independent report of all the significant data on a specific drug, placed in the context of the disease area and clinical practice. Before 2012, Drugs in Context was only available by subscription which meant that readership was severely restricted. Now, following a period of significant change in the medical research and development landscape and with the objective of making research results available to all, Drugs in Context will become an open access (OA) journal that publishes all content online for anyone to view free of charge. All articles published in Drugs in Context will be assigned a unique CrossRef digital object identifier (DOI) that functions as a persistent identifier for the article unlike a URL that may go out of date. The unique CrossRef DOI means that every article can be interlinked and cited quickly and efficiently.

Aims and scope

Building on its 10 year publishing history, Drugs in Context’s mission is to make an academic contribution to international life science and to inform and motivate improvements to the practice of medicine by publishing high quality, rigorously peer reviewed articles.

In line with the principle of providing context for HCPs to properly inform and improve disease management in real world medicine, Drugs in Context welcomes submissions of original articles for publication under the following 4 main section headings:

1. Original research studies: pre-clinical – phase IV, outcomes and pharmacoeconomics studies of clinical significance
2. Disease updates: etiology, epidemiology, physiology and disease burden
3. Improving practice: practical application of interventions in clinical practice; patient finding, disease management and concordance strategies; incentives and motivation; training and CME; impact of new technology, e.g. social networking strategies
4. Opinion: stimulating or controversial articles to motivate debate and discussion

Drugs in Context welcomes submissions for publication in English from anywhere in the world and can help authors with translation from their native language into English if required.

Acceptance for publication is made subject to peer review; rejection will be accompanied by an explanation and guidance for re-submission. Acceptance or rejection will be communicated to authors promptly. Accepted articles will then undergo rigorous peer review and editorial quality control procedures. The editors aim to complete these procedures and publish articles online within 8 weeks from original submission. An EXPEDITE option that reduces the lead time to publication significantly is available for authors if required.

Criteria for Publication

Within the stated aims and scope, articles ideally should meet the following criteria:

• Originality
• Importance to researchers or practitioners in the field
• Interest for researchers or practitioners outside the field
• Rigorous methodology with conclusions justified by the evidence presented
• Adherence to the highest ethical standards

Editorial standards

Drugs in Context is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and abides by the COPE Code of Conduct. The publisher follows what are commonly referred to as GPP2 – or the Good Publication Practice Guidelines.

Competing interests and mandatory disclosure

Drugs in Context is committed to transparency and the avoidance of bias at all levels of the publishing process. Therefore, authors/editors/reviewers (professional or academic, paid or unpaid) must declare all relevant competing interests for consideration during the review process by signing the Transparency/Financial Disclosure Form.

A competing interest is anything that interferes with, or could reasonably be perceived as interfering with, the full and objective presentation, peer review, editorial decision-making or publication of research or non-research articles submitted. Competing interests can be financial or nonfinancial, professional or personal. Competing interests can arise from a relationship to an organisation or another person.

Everyone involved in authorship, funding, review and editorial decision-making of submitted articles must declare any and all relevant competing interests.

Failure to declare competing interests at submission, or when an article is commissioned, may result in immediate rejection of the paper. If a competing interest comes to light after publication Drugs in Context will issue a formal correction or retraction of the whole paper, as appropriate.

Examples of competing interests

Financial

• Paid employment or consultancy
• Drugs in Context Editorial Board membership
• Patent applications (pending or actual), including individual applications or those belonging to institutions to which authors/funders/reviewers/editors are affiliated and which those entities may benefit from
• Research grants (from any source, restricted or unrestricted)

Nonfinancial

Nonfinancial competing interests include but are not limited to:

Professional

• Acting as an expert witness
• Membership in a government or other advisory board
• Relationship (paid or unpaid) with organizations and funding bodies including nongovernmental organizations, research institutions or charities
• Membership in lobbying or advocacy organizations
• Writing or consulting for an educational company

Personal

• Personal relationships with individuals involved in the submission or evaluation of a paper
• Personal convictions (political, religious, ideological or other) related to a paper’s topic that may interfere with an unbiased publication process (at the stage of authorship, peer review, editorial decision making or publication)

Editorial Board

Drugs in Context has an Editorial Board headed by our Editor in Chief. The Editorial Board works to ensure that the journal has editorial integrity; that Drugs in Context is scientifically valid and credible and that it is free from bias and supported by a rigorous peer review process.

More about the Editorial Board

Contact

For further information or to find out more about how to submit your article for publication please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Telephone +44 (0) 1242 910 999

Why is context important?

For me context is the key - from that comes the understanding of everything.
Kenneth Noland

In an era of so-called evidence-based medicine, we must bear in mind that the emergence of any piece of evidence is occurring not in a vacuum, but within a complex set of attitudinal, ideological, societal, economic, and cultural contexts (both implicit and explicit). These contexts no doubt influence whether or not, and to what extent, such findings are considered interesting, important, or valid, and whether they are ultimately translated into medical training and practice.
Astin JA. Arthritis Care Res 2007;57 (7):1116–8. DOI 10.1002/art.23004.

Disinformation is most effective in a very narrow context.
Frank Snepp