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lrogers{at}ajroffice.org
OK! OK! Let's not get carried away; surely we are not describing our Howard Forman, the one who has been writing health policy briefs for the AJR. We must be talking about some other guy. Our Howie is a clean living guy who wouldn't touch a cigarette. An ace with computers, he wouldn't be caught dead with a manual typewriter. Not only that, our Howie is somewhat of an ascetic, given to extreme exercise. He's a vegetarian who likes to eat dry cereal right from the box, particularly those little boxes sold for breakfast in restaurants. And besides, he doesn't wear a hat.
Nah, that's not our Howie; I was just kidding. But he is a great reporter.
By now, we trust that you have noticed and read the Policy Brief feature that appears up front in the Journal [1, 2, 3]. Policy Brief is to be a regular monthly feature of the AJR hereafter and, in most issues, will be written by Dr. Forman, who enthusiastically accepted this assignment. There is no doubt that he is up to the task.
(You will note that this month's contribution is authored by Berlin [3]. Lenny Berlin? No, Jonathan Berlin, Lenny's son. Apparently the apple didn't fall too far from the tree.)
The standard requirements of peer-reviewed publications make it difficult to include timely, up-to-date information on subjects of current interest. The gestation period from submission through peer review, editorial acceptance, copyediting, page proofing, printing, and mailing is prolonged. At the AJR, this process requires somewhat more than 8 months on average. A lot can happen and a lot can change in 8 months.
So, as a rule, the AJR has not attempted "news" columns. However, computers and self-publishing have made it possible to publish more timely information. The AJR is published by the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) and we have no need for an intermediary publishing company. The ARRS is therefore able to facilitate publication, as it may desire.
Procedures have been developed for fast-tracking articles of immediate importance to radiologists. As the saying goes, "necessity is the mother of invention." Actually, fast-tracking was devised to accommodate our desire to publish timely articles on SARS.
Having fast-tracked SARS articles, we realized that we could do the same for other articles. Why not fast-track a regular series of articles devoted to governmental health initiatives that affect the practice of radiologists?
Most radiologists are interested in what the federal establishment, those politicians and bureaucrats in our nation's capital, are up to: "What are they trying to do to us now?" But it is easy to get lost in the fed's jungle of abbreviations and acronyms. One can easily become disoriented in the fusillade of verbiage and pronouncements laid down by the politicians and pundits. Are they serious? Are they shooting at our heads? Or at our feet? Or are they simply firing for effect? It is hard to know without a knowledgeable guide, someone to lead you through the political fog.
First, you must find someone who is capable of and interested in creating such a series. Howard Forman seemed an obvious choice. He unhesitatingly accepted our invitation. "Front Page" Forman is our man. Together, we devised a format, and he was allotted four pages in each issue of the Journal.
The plan is for him to review all the current governmental health initiatives of the previous 4-6 weeks: House and Senate bills proposed, laws enacted, and health agency regulations announced (no small task in itself); identify those of interest and importance to radiologists; select the most important; summarize and interpret the intent of those selected; and finally front the article with an 800- to 1000-word editorial on health policy. Quite an undertaking!
You should further realize that Dr. Forman will operate against a very tight publication schedule. He is to deliver his column 1 week before the Journal goes to press. This allows quick editorial review and copyediting. His deadline comes after the Journal has been paginated; thus, it is necessary to place his column in the "A" section in front of the editorial pages, up front where it will be easy for you to find.
Our man Forman is quite a guy!
Howard P. Forman is an Associate Professor at Yale, where he serves as Vice Chair for Finance and Administration of the Department of Diagnostic Radiology while practicing cross-sectional and emergency/trauma radiology. He received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and was a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow during which time he served "on the Hill" as a legislative fellow in the United States Senate, where he worked on Medicare legislation. Professor Forman is a lecturer in the Economics Department of Yale College and Director of the MD/MBA program sponsored by the Yale School of Medicine and the Yale School of Management.
Needless to say, Forman's credentials are sterling. When it comes to understanding and reporting and commenting on governmental initiatives from the viewpoint of a radiologist, our man Howard Forman is uniquely qualified.
So let's hear it for Howie:
Howie, Howie,
He's our man.
If he can't do it,
No one can!
Acknowledgments
We wish Dr. Forman all the best in his new undertaking. Show him your appreciation. He can be reached at HealthPolicy{at}arrs.org. E-mail him your thanks, as well as your comments and questions. If you take the time to offer your encouragement, it is likely that Howie will respond by working even harder on our behalf.
Thank you, Dr. Forman. Good luck in your new endeavor!
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