1. I selected two prominent Associate Editors—Chip Reynolds and Anand Kumar, and a Statistical Editor—Steve Arndt. A new Editorial Board was selected. This Board is relatively small (with 15 members) and diverse in terms of areas of expertise. Each member has a three-year term limit, but is expected to be very active during this period (see below).
2. The editorial review process has become faster. We switched from mail correspondence to e-mail submissions and reviews with typically a 24-hour turnaround from the time of submission of a manuscript to the reviewers. At the same time, the reviews have become more rigorous with every data-based article being reviewed by a statistician, and with two or three additional reviewers for every article (including solicited ones).
3. One of our new initiatives has focused on theme-based issues.  We solicit articles on a particular theme from well-known authorities in the field, and also include appropriate unsolicited papers to produce an issue in which a number of articles are on the same theme.  Such articles include data-based Regular Articles and Brief Reports along with invited Guest Editorials and Special Review Articles. A member of the Editorial Board is responsible for putting together an issue on the theme related to her or his area of expertise. To date we have published issues based on the following themes: brain imaging, biomarkers, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, subsyndromal mood disorders, suicidal behaviors, treatment research, psychosocial interventions, decisional capacity, and training.
4. An important early goal was to increase the rate of submissions.  The number of submissions during 2002 was 250% greater than the average number of submissions per year during the 1990s.  The rate of rejections has also more than doubled.  Nonetheless, the increased rate of submissions enabled us to increase the frequency of publication of the AJGP from quarterly to bimonthly.  The average time-lag for publication of accepted manuscripts has been reduced by 50%. 
5. We made changes in the format of the AJGP—e.g., the abstracts of data-based articles are now structured. Last month, the journal introduced a new cover design, using blue, green, and maroon colors. We started several new features recommended by readers of the AJGP.  One of them is labeled Clinical Reviews, modeled after those published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and intended to provide clinicians with a succinct and objective update of the specific clinical topic. 
6. One indication of the improved quality of the articles in the AJGP has been the wide publicity (including references in popular newspapers, magazines, and TV and radio news) accorded to several papers published during the past year and a half. Hence, we hoped for an increase in the numbers of citations of articles in the AJGP. We were delighted to see our wishes come true when ISI Essential Science Indicators reported that the AJGP had the greatest increase in the number of citations over a recent bimonthly period.

We plan to go on-line within a year, and increase the frequency of publication of the journal to monthly later in 2004. We will focus on themes that have not been covered so far—e.g., psychotic disorders, translational research, pharmaceutical discovery and regulatory policies, health services research, neuropsychology of aging, etc. We will also revisit themes related to areas in which rapid advances are being made.

The main contribution of the AJGP to the field of Psychiatry/Psychology is that it provides a unique forum for papers in geriatric mental health that are rigorously reviewed by experts in this area. The papers are judged scientifically, yet are intended to be useful to clinicians and students too. The next quarter century is going to see a dramatic growth in the number of elderly people in general (thanks to the aging of the baby-boomers), and even a greater proportionate increase in the number of older people with neuropsychiatric disorders. Some of the most exciting research in Psychiatry/Psychology is expected to take place in the field of geriatric neuropsychiatry. We would like the AJGP to be at the forefront of publishing the anticipated revolutionary advances in the understanding, management, and prevention of aging-related behavioral disorders.

American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry
Dilip V. Jeste, M.D., Editor-in-Chief
American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, publishers