Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM, FACC, started his official term as JACC editor-in-chief on July 1. In an interview with Cardiology, he shares his vision for JACC's future as a beacon to advance cardiovascular health for all. This vision involves attracting the best content, improving the author experience, delivering the best information to readers, and collaborating with others to produce the greatest impact.

I am excited about this role because it offers a tremendous opportunity to expand on JACC's legacy of excellence and drive significant advancements in cardiovascular health.

JACC has the potential to be a transformative force in health care. We will provide clinicians with the information they need to deliver the best care and support authors with a respectful and efficient peer review process. We will disseminate crucial scientific papers and guidance that maximize future health care advancements.

Through my role as editor-in-chief, I am honored to bring together the best talent, with attention to diverse backgrounds and perspectives, to ensure that JACC becomes the leading beacon advancing global cardiovascular health.

Medical journals today stand at a pivotal point where they can significantly influence the future of cardiovascular health. With the rapid expansion of scientific potential and the transformative power of digital platforms, our challenge is to innovate within an established industry.

Our goal is to look at everything with fresh eyes and push ourselves to produce products that drive value and support progress.

JACC should lead this renaissance, adapting to changing circumstances and providing the highest value to patients, clinicians, administrators, industry and policymakers.

The JACC ecosystem should publish consequential articles across the spectrum of article types and be a must-read for its global constituency. It must also illuminate opportunities to close the gap in health equity and promote the interests of the most vulnerable. We need to provide content that will help inform a reader through a change in science, technology and policy.

Its leadership and boards must be diverse and inclusive, providing a safe space for difficult conversations about the continuing evolution of cardiovascular disease prevention and care. We will leverage technology to improve the effectiveness of peer review and the experience of our readers and contributors and turbocharge the dissemination and amplification of our content.

Success means being the go-to source for high-impact content that accelerates progress in cardiovascular health. It ensures each JACC publication reaches its fullest potential in visibility, readership and impact.

There should be an X-factor with a JACC publication that ensures it has more views, readers, citations and impact than if it were published elsewhere. One of our central tenets is that dissemination and amplification are as critical as publication. We owe it to our readers to have the most important content. We owe it to our authors to ensure the world sees their work. If it is in JACC, it is consequential. And if it is consequential, it deserves visibility. We have the channels, processes and talent to deliver for our authors.

As an author, I know the friction for authors in medical publishing. We aim to eliminate these barriers by creating a seamless, author-centric experience. This includes simplifying submission requirements, speeding up the review process, and providing clear, focused editorial guidance.

We want to make it easy to submit by eliminating all but the most essential requirements. I do not care about the format of the initial submission, and I do not want authors wasting their time formatting references when it is not clear that we will publish the paper.

Then, we want to emphasize speed. Authors need decisions as quickly as possible, and we are instituting a door-to-decision approach to eliminate delays.

We want to provide helpful guidance for papers that progress and focus attention where there is the most to gain – mindful that the revision process can be burdensome if editorial guidance is not focused. We are also working to be fair by avoiding biases that can make it more difficult for great science from new authors to be recognized.

Our editorial board comprises a diverse group of brilliant, kind and creative individuals at various career stages and from different backgrounds. They share a mission-driven mindset and are open to innovative approaches, making them great ambassadors for JACC. We are also expanding the teams with editorial consultants and others who are experts who can provide us guidance as we seek many opportunities for people to participate.

Collaboration is a cornerstone of our strategy. We amplify our impact by forging strong ties within the JACC Journals and the ACC and with partners like The Lancet. We also work with other organizations and government agencies to enhance our mission and better serve our community.

Over the next five years, JACC will build on its 70-year legacy, questioning the status quo in medical publishing and supporting scientists and clinicians in making transformative advancements in cardiovascular health.

Our role will be to facilitate collaboration, promote cutting-edge science and drive progress towards a healthier future. We will have the courage to question the status quo in medical publishing and produce products that contribute to transformative advancements in our field.

We will not be the protagonists in the story, but we will be playing a vital role in supporting scientists and clinicians worldwide – and all others who share the mission of improving cardiovascular health – to make a difference in people's lives worldwide. We will work to bring people together, promote science and guidance, and accelerate progress toward a better future.

Keywords: Cardiology Magazine, ACC Publications, Health Equity, Goals, Cardiology