Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed. Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles. The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being wilfully misrepresented as published articles.
I’m sorry that Dr Ambury had difficulty finding a BMJ article on
line, and perhaps we should send out a stronger message that using titles
is not the best way to search for BMJ articles.
Our continuous publishing model (http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/about-
bmj/policies/the-bmjs-publishing-model) means that we now publish all our
articles on line on bmj.com more or less as soon as they are ready to
publish. The articles thus posted are the canonical versions with a
definitive citation, and they may (or may not) subsequently appear in
print. When they do appear in print they may be shortened slightly to fit
on a print page and their title may change (particularly in the case of
news articles). To help readers find the online version of an article in
print we include on every article a label that shows how to cite that
article (eg on the Integrated care article it is Cite this as: BMJ
2009;338:b1484). The best way to find an article on line is thus to go to
the advanced search page and use the information in the citation. Using
the author's name is another easy way to find recent articles since the
search results are given in order of the most recent articles first.
I read the article with interest as my own PCT (East Lancs) is in the
throwes of separating commissioning from provision of care, under the
auspices of Transforming Community Care. I felt I should share it with
strategic colleagues so as to inform the debate. Unfortunately, that's
were things went wrong.
Searching on BMJ.com didn't produce the article; I tried OVID and Medline
to no avail; I returned to BMJ.com and navigated to the title page of the
relevant issue and therein lay the problem.
In the paper journal and when I finally downloaded the PDF of the article,
the title is "Joined up Thinking". Not, as BMJ.com cite it, "Integrated
Care".
I almost gave up searching.
If the point of instant and 24/7 access is to ease sharing important
information, stimulate debate and, perhaps, inform health policy
decisions, such confused navigation acts as a great impedence. Please be
consistent.
Finding articles on bmj.com
I’m sorry that Dr Ambury had difficulty finding a BMJ article on
line, and perhaps we should send out a stronger message that using titles
is not the best way to search for BMJ articles.
Our continuous publishing model (http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/about-
bmj/policies/the-bmjs-publishing-model) means that we now publish all our
articles on line on bmj.com more or less as soon as they are ready to
publish. The articles thus posted are the canonical versions with a
definitive citation, and they may (or may not) subsequently appear in
print. When they do appear in print they may be shortened slightly to fit
on a print page and their title may change (particularly in the case of
news articles). To help readers find the online version of an article in
print we include on every article a label that shows how to cite that
article (eg on the Integrated care article it is Cite this as: BMJ
2009;338:b1484). The best way to find an article on line is thus to go to
the advanced search page and use the information in the citation. Using
the author's name is another easy way to find recent articles since the
search results are given in order of the most recent articles first.
I hope this explanation helps.
Jane Smith
deputy editor, BMJ
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests