We're developing ELPS and will soon publish papers shortly after acceptance

In 1999 the BMJ started using a process called ELPS (electronic long, paper short) to publish shorter, more reader friendly versions of original research papers in the print journal.1 Because readability is just as important on the web, these shorter papers are also published on bmj.com along with their original longer versions. To make this clear to readers of bmj.com we mark the papers “abridged text” and “full text.” Like everything else on bmj.com, both versions of each research paper are freely accessible to everyone. The long versions are indexed for Medline, and are published in full on PubMed Central. Readers and authors seem pleased with ELPS so far, and we are continuing to explore new ways to serve their needs.

In our current ELPS process the long version of the paper, after acceptance, is edited according to BMJ style. We aim to eliminate language ambiguities and correct numerical errors not detected during peer review. After editing the paper is sent to the authors for approval. Then the long paper is shortened by a BMJ editor, and the short version …