The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and the British Medical Journal (BMJ) are both developing their online services, with a new design and new functionality coming on stream.

On the NEJM’s beta site (http://beta.nejm.org/default.aspx) the stated aim is to “pursue new ideas in publishing and showcase innovative ways to present information for use in medical education, research, and clinical practice”.

On NEJM users are invited to test a whole host of exciting looking functionality. For example the ‘Most popular at NEJM’ includes lists of what users are downloading and emailing, what the press is covering, what blogs are talking about, and what researchers are citing.

It also includes a powerful new search engine which displays results according to most recent, most viewed, research, review, commentary, case materials, plus images and figures. A search for medical imaging brings up an interesting set of results, clearly displayed according to each of these categories, confirming ‘The New Era of Medical Imaging -- Progress and Pitfalls’ by John K. Iglehart as the most viewed article for instance.

On the other side of the Atlantic the BMJ’s (http://www.bmj.com/) aim is to "help doctors make better decisions – in clinical practice, in public health, in health policy, in planning future research, and in their own professional lives. The new BMJ will speak to the whole profession, providing a unique bridge between primary and secondary care and between research and practice". While there’s comparitively not so much in the way of online imaging resources, the value placed on easier access through better design shows that the BMJ in particular, and medical publishers in general, are taking the issues created by the increasing information needs of medical professionals seriously.