Meet Professor Adam Timmis, the Editor in Chief of the latest member of the European Society of Cardiology journal family, the European Heart Journal — Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes (EHJ-QCCO). We spoke to Timmis about how he became involved in cardiology, the challenges and developments in his field, and his plans for EHJ-QCCO.
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What encouraged you to pursue a career in the field of cardiology?
In 1987, when I took up my first consultant job, cardiology was on the brink of a revolution that I wanted to be part of. The trials of coronary bypass surgery were already published and the trials of coronary stenting and thrombolytic therapy were coming on line. Add to this the emerging medical treatments for coronary disease and heart failure, plus the more recent advances in interventional electrophysiology. There is no doubt that cardiology was — and remains — the most exciting medical specialty on offer.
What do you think are the challenges being faced in the field of cardiovascular care, health economics, and prognosis today?
The challenges we face are, in many respects, welcome challenges because they stem from the variety of investigatory and therapeutic options that are now available in clinical cardiology. We are spoilt for choice and it is important that we make those choices wisely, considering not only the evidence base for investigation and treatment but also the costs at a time when healthcare budgets are stretched to the limits of what we can afford
How do you see this field developing in the future?
“Quality of Care and Outcomes” speaks to the heart of what matters to patients. As the field develops it must be the patient’s voice that we listen to in developing our research programmes. This will require more attention to patient related outcome measures and a focus on research to enhance the quality of life, not prolong the process of dying.
What are you most looking forward to about being Editor in Chief for the EHJ-QCCO?
I am looking forward to working with my Editorial Team to make this a high quality journal that meets the needs of both researchers and readers. I want EHJ-QCCO to join Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes as a leader in this emerging field of outcomes research.
What do you envisage your typical day as the Editor in Chief looking like?
Having spent seven years editing Heart I recognize that there is no such thing as a typical day! Most of the work is done online and can be picked up in dedicated time slots. However, regular contact with the Editorial Team and the publishers (Oxford University Press) is important and I will need to make time for that as well. The availability of videoconferencing software for office use and use by mobile phone helps to make the workload manageable
Is there any aspect of the Editor in Chief role that has surprised you so far?
Surprise is perhaps the wrong word but I have been delighted by the support on offer from the European Society of Cardiology, Oxford University Press, and the excellent Editorial team I have built around me.
Can you tell us about the new journal? Its aims, and the scope of the papers that you are publishing?
We will seek to publish high quality cardiovascular research into quality of care and outcomes, our key aims being:
- conducting outcome comparisons at hospital regional national and international level
- benchmarking quality of care
- setting new publication standards for outcomes research
- encouraging young investigators and supporting growth of the outcomes research community
- informing cardiovascular public health policy internationally
Why do you see this as an important addition to the ESC Journals portfolio?
Prognosis research has been something of a Cinderella interest but recognition that patient outcomes may vary widely between hospitals and also between healthcare systems has now identified it as one of the most important growth areas in contemporary academic medicine.
Read the instructions to authors and learn how to become part of this new community.
Heading image: Heart beat. CC0 via Pixabay.
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