About Speaking of Medicine

As the leading open access general medical journal, PLoS Medicine is an innovative and influential venue for research and comment on the major challenges to human health worldwide. It publishes highly selected papers of relevance to a global audience, that address the major biological, environmental, social and political determinants of health.

We decided to launch Speaking of Medicine so that the community of authors, reviewers and board members, not to mention the 91,000 visitors per month,  that has grown up around PLoS Medicine since its launch in October 2004, can have somewhere to meet and informally discuss issues that matter to them and communicate with the journal staff directly.

For more information on the scope of the journal and our decision to prioritise papers about the conditions and risk factors contributing to the greatest global burden of diseases visit the journal information section of the PLoS Medicine site and read the April 2009 Editorial.

Watch this series of five videos with Ginny Barbour, the Chief Editor of  PLoS Medicine, about the vision of the journal:

1. Launching and Running PLoS Medicine:

2. Refocusing PLoS Medicine‘s Editorial vision

3. Open Access to Health Information

Ginny Barbour, Part 3: PLoS Medicine Open Access to Health Information from PLoS on Vimeo.

4. PLoS Medicine‘s Fifth Anniversary and Future Plans

Ginny Barbour, Part 4: PLoS Medicine’s Fifth Anniversary and Future Plans from PLoS on Vimeo.

5. Open Access, Achievements and Looking Forward

Ginny Barbour, Part 5: Open Access, Achievements and Looking Forward from PLoS on Vimeo.