May 1st, 2015
A Message from the Editor-in-Chief
Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM
Dear Colleagues,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who have made CardioExchange such an outstanding venue for honest interchange on cardiology issues over the past 6 years.
CardioExchange is just a great community, and I will miss the opportunity for this extended family to get together in this venue. We didn’t always agree. We had a few who expressed some opinions persistently (even the Editor) – and yet, it seemed to work. It was a good place to go to express an opinion, ask a question, or learn from others. We designed it to be simple – nothing fancy – just a place for good content and brief conversations.
This community began as a trial by the Massachusetts Medical Society. We never knew if it would last a few months… and here we are six years later. We have had a spectacular team. In the beginning we had Anju Nohria, Susan Cheng, and Matt O’Rourke – more recently John Ryan, Kristin Odmark, and others too numerous to mention. And just about from the outset we have been fortunate to have one of the leading independent journalists in our field, Larry Husten. My deep gratitude goes out to them all for their contributions over the years. They are my friends, and I was fortunate to have them as my teammates on this effort.
MMS will continue to try new ways to engage the community. You will hear more about that.
The platforms for our interactions will continue to evolve. Truly independent platforms where our diversity of voices can be heard – and not only tolerated but encouraged – will remain important. We need to be able to cut through hype, promotion, and marketing – and be able to debate what is known and what is uncertain in medicine. We need a place to discuss what is important for patient care. We need to see if we can struggle together to find the truth. And we need to know that we will not always see things the same way, and that may just reveal that there is more than one way to interpret the same objective information.
The spirit of CardioExchange was to question respectfully, to share generously, and always to be willing to consider other points of view. I hope that we will continue to find places to do that down the road.
Thanks for joining us on this journey.
20 Responses to “A Message from the Editor-in-Chief”
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Sad news.
So why the secrecy behind the discontinuance? In neither post was an explanation given. Recently the ABIM has come under vigorous scrutiny and criticism for their lack of transparency, driven in large part by the cardiology community. Not to say that this is remotely related, however a better explanation is expected in my opinion. This is a true loss for cardiologists.
I agree with Dr. Payne and Corral. I think CardioExchange is an amazing community I can’t think of any good reason to stop it. Is there any way to continue it or does anyone has a good idea, I am sure many would like to hear it.
It was always my pleasure to learn from and interact with my cardiologist colleagues. I will miss this forum and hope MMS replaces it with something better or at least decides to keep it. Thanks.
Thank you Harlan Krumholz for providing this forum and the work you put into it.
I do not know why all good things must end, but they invariably do…
Thank you for the experience.
Richard Kones
I do not know why all good things must end, but they invariably do.
Thank you for the experience–stimulating information, great debates. Outstanding contributions by all involved, especially Harlan, who obviously devoted such time to the cause.
Yes, very sad.
Richard Kones
CardioExchange, we hardly knew ye.
Superb stewardship by Harlan. Great effort with stellar output. Difficult to sustain.
What’s to miss?
-Richard Lehman’s rhapsodic analysis of current publications
-Unprecedented manuscript author interviews with the real meaning behind the meaning
-Patient vignette’s with “wisdom of the crowd” discourse
-Global patronage
Unreplacable.
we are not the 1st of April!
but I cannot, I want not believe you.
please do not confirm!
Is there any financial problem behind this?
what should I do without Kristin, Richard, Larry, John, Enrique and col. and you Harlan
Yes the 5 Kmenbers need explanationS
unbelievable.
This news makes me sad. CardioExchange has become a steady part of my professional life. As a consumer, having the ability to leave a comment made me a more attentive reader. As a contributor, I learned from the editors and became a better writer. I was given the opportunity to try out ideas on medical reasoning in a series of blog posts that eventially formed into an iBook on the topic. What a wonderful opportunity that was!
Thanks goes to Harlan Krumholz for his creativity, wisdom, energy, and generosity. This project was one of many examples of his commitment to the ideals of our profession.
In a modern world where everything has to have a quick return on investment, CardioExchange was like a town common, or public library, or a small town coffee shop, where we could gather and chat and learn from each other. I hope the NEJM Group will have the wisdom to recreate this environment elsewhere. Thanks.
Thanks for the kind words and for the comments and contributions from all our authors and bloggers over the years. It was an honor to have been able to provide a voice for so many cardiologists and physicians over the years. As I’ve reflected on this experience, I think the greatest thing we achieved was becoming a go-to cardiology website for so many decent, good, smart physicians, who knew that this was a trusted space free of commercial interest. It is two years since we posted this interview with Tom Ryan, Kanu Chatterjee, Rick Nishimura, Jim Fang and James DeLemos- the insight and honesty offered by this post is reflective of our entire mission- please read one more time (at least)… http://blogs.jwatch.org/cardioexchange/voices/persistent-chest-pain-after-myopericarditis/
I also will miss being part of this extended family. Thank you, Harlan, and thank you co-editors and NEJM for providing this venue. Do it again!
I have enjoyed Harlan’s, Larry’s and others’ words of wisdom, especially as opinions frequently align closely with mine. Other voices do at least provoke the need to challenge one’s own stance, hence the beauty of the blogs. I do hope that something similar will arise from the ashes.
Thank you for the service while it lasted.
De-Invite 4840?. Please tell us why, and if anything can be done.
Thank you all for your kind messages – they mean so much to all of us who feel such a part of this community and were privileged to be part of it. As to the question of why…I don’t think that there is any specific explanation except that ultimately it did not fit into the plans that NEJM has for its future offerings. They have conducted strategic planning and decided to go in another direction. I cannot speak for them except to say that they consistently were impressed by this community. It was just a strategic decision about how they have decided to allocate their resources. We were fortunate that they supported it for 6 great years.
Perhaps continuing a forum such as this can be a raison d’etre for state medical societies. How much can it cost to support a forum such as this? I would not expect Mass to support it alone, however with 49 other state participants, we could get a new concept in independent literature review at a very low cost.
I have learned a lot from this forum and will miss it.
I am so proud to have been part of CardioExchange. The conversations that that the editors and invited authors nurtured, the knowledge that experts of all stripes shared, the commitment that they community showed to improving medicine all made this a unique space. Personally, the chance to work with Larry and John and above all Harlan was extremely educational, deeply humbling, and more fun than I had any right to expect.
Thank you all for a great ride.
This forum was great and I shall miss it . Thank you all participants, this was a very good experience.
I want to also voice my respect for the community that has made CardioExchange so appreciated by its members. The free-range discussions about topics of importance and sharing of perspectives really created the dynamism of CardioExchange. The decision to wind down this activity was not made lightly and recognized what a special place this has become. I’d like to add my thanks again for the privilege of collaborating with Harlan, John Ryan, Larry Huston, James Fang, Rick Lange, David Hillis, Andy Kates, James De Lemos, and from the MMS, Bob Dall, Editor Kristin Odmark, development guru Ador Yano, Matt O’Rourke, Steve DeMaio, Danielle Douglas, Wes Sharer, Betty Barrer, Sharon Salinger, Amy Herman, and the colleague physician bloggers and commenters too numerous to mention.
What a spectacular run; where else could someone ask for help on the nuance of differentiating atherosclerotic and granulomatous carotid stenosis? Bravo! I will miss this part of my peripheral brain.