NEJM Group

NEJM Group
Name	New England Journal of Medicine Group
Type	Medical publishing
Founded	1812 (as The New England Journal of Medicine)
Headquarters	Boston, Massachusetts
Country	United States
Owner	Massachusetts Medical Society

NEJM Group provides medical publishing, clinical information, and multimedia services associated with a long-standing peer-reviewed medical journal. It connects clinicians, researchers, and policymakers through journals, specialty publications, digital learning, and conferences, engaging audiences similar to those served by The Lancet, JAMA Network, BMJ, Nature Medicine, and Science Translational Medicine. Its offerings intersect with clinical societies, including the American Medical Association, Royal College of Physicians, American College of Physicians, and organizations such as the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

History

The origin traces to a period overlapping with institutions like Harvard Medical School, Boston Medical Library, and entities such as the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries it paralleled developments involving figures and events linked to Ignaz Semmelweis, Louis Pasteur, Alexander Fleming, Joseph Lister, and milestones similar to the Flexner Report. The Group evolved alongside publishers such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wolters Kluwer, and historical competitors like Johns Hopkins Hospital presses. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries its trajectory intersected with initiatives by PubMed, MEDLINE, ClinicalTrials.gov, and collaborations resembling partnerships with National Institutes of Health institutes and commissions such as the Institute of Medicine.

Publications and Products

Core publications include a flagship general medical journal with parallels to The Lancet Oncology, JAMA Cardiology, and BMJ Open Heart, as well as specialty and educational titles comparable to NEJM Evidence and platforms analogous to Annals of Internal Medicine, The BMJ, PLOS Medicine, and Cell. Products extend to case reports, review series, and clinical updates like those found in UpToDate, DynaMed, and Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine-style references. Multimedia offerings echo formats used by TEDMED, Medscape, STAT News, and BMJ Best Practice, while continuing education formats align with programs from American Board of Internal Medicine, European Society of Cardiology, and American College of Surgeons.

Editorial Structure and Peer Review

Editorial leadership historically mirrors roles present at institutions such as Harvard Medical School, Yale School of Medicine, and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, with editors-in-chief comparable to prominent editors at The Lancet and JAMA. Peer review processes draw on expert pools similar to reviewers affiliated with National Academy of Medicine, Royal Society of Medicine, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and specialty academies such as American Heart Association and American Society of Clinical Oncology. Editorial policies reference standards like those espoused by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and procedures akin to COPE guidelines, while ethical oversight parallels inquiries handled by panels similar to Office of Research Integrity.

Digital Platforms and Services

Digital delivery systems integrate features comparable to PubMed Central, ClinicalKey, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar. Learning and point-of-care tools resemble services from UpToDate and DynaMed Plus, while multimedia channels use streaming and interactive formats similar to those employed by YouTube, iTunes U, and professional platforms like LinkedIn Learning. Data-sharing and reproducibility practices interface with repositories modeled on Dryad, Zenodo, and Figshare, and clinical content distribution interoperates with electronic health record vendors such as Epic Systems Corporation and Cerner Corporation.

Impact and Reception

Citations and influence measure alongside journals like Nature, Science, Cell, and specialty titles including Circulation, Lancet Oncology, and Annals of Surgery. Coverage and critique appear in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and trade publications like STAT News and The BMJ. Debates over access, open science, and conflicts of interest echo controversies involving Elsevier and disputes reminiscent of discussions around open access movements and policies advocated by organizations like SPARC and funders such as the Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Business Structure and Ownership

Organizational governance aligns with nonprofit medical societies similar to the American Medical Association and Royal College of Physicians; ownership and stewardship mirror arrangements seen at entities like the Massachusetts Medical Society and university presses affiliated with Harvard University Press. Revenue models include subscription, licensing, continuing medical education fees, and syndication resembling agreements made by Wolters Kluwer Health and Elsevier Health Sciences, with commercial partnerships comparable to collaborations involving Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, and Novartis for sponsored education and reprints. Regulatory and legal interactions are analogous to cases heard in venues like the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and oversight by agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission.

Category:Medical publishing