A novel Maltese medical journal

Abstract

PubMed is a leading and free database of references and abstracts published in academic journals pertaining to the life sciences and biomedical topics. The database is maintained by the United States government via the National Library of Medicine at the National Institute of Health and there are millions of articles indexed in this repository. Well over 5000 journals are represented and the decision as to whether or not to index a journal is based on considerations of both scientific policy and scientific quality. A journal applying for inclusion and indexing in PubMed must have ample scope and coverage, along with adequate technical merit in the papers represented. The journal must also demonstrate suitably high levels of objectivity, credibility and quality. The previous Editorial Board of the Malta Medical Journal attempted to include the MMJ in PubMed but did not meet with success as the journal was deemed to have too low a circulation. The current Editorial Board applied for the MMJ to be included in PMC (not PubMed) in 2013. A negative decision was communicated to the MMJ Editorial Board this year. After deliberation both within the Editorial Board and within the Faculty Board of Medicine, it was decided to revamp the MMJ and create a new in-house, peer-reviewed journal in the hope that eventual reapplication for MMJ inclusion in PMC would be successful.