The Permanente Federation announces new editor-in-chief of The Permanente Journal

G. Richard Holt, MD, assumes leadership of journal, with a renewed focus on health care delivery science, value-based and high-value care, and applied clinical research

OAKLAND, Calif. — The Permanente Federation today announced the appointment of G. Richard Holt, MD, as editor-in-chief of The Permanente Journal, which relaunches in 2022 with a focus on health care delivery science, value-based and high-value care, and applied clinical research.

“We enthusiastically welcome Dr. Holt, whose mix of devotion to best practices in patient care and experience with scholarly publishing will complement and support the rigorous plans to increase The Permanente Journal’s stature among general, open-access medical journals,” said Stephen M. Parodi, MD, executive vice president of External Affairs, Communications, and Brand for The Permanente Federation, which represents the national interests of more than 23,000 physicians of the 8 Permanente Medical Groups of Kaiser Permanente.

“The Permanente Journal’s new charge and direction represents an important milestone and exciting chapter for the journal and our organization,” Dr. Parodi said.

Dr. Holt is professor emeritus and teaching professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, with decades of experience in clinical practice and research. His appointment as editor-in-chief comes at an exciting time for The Permanente Journal, which is relaunching with a redefined mission and scope for its 2022 volume.

The Permanente Journal will strengthen the landscape of broad-scope medical and clinical journals by publishing peer-reviewed studies in health care delivery science, value-based care, high-value care, and applied research. It will also provide a forum for scholarship and discovery for the medical education community and engage in the ongoing dialogue on the importance of equity, inclusion, and diversity in medicine.

“I am honored and humbled to be appointed as the next editor-in-chief for The Permanente Journal,” Dr. Holt said. “The opportunity for The Permanente Journal is tremendous, and I look forward to working with the editorial board and journal team members at the Federation to lead the journal forward to its next stage of distinction.”

Dr. Holt has served in past roles as editor-in-chief for The Southern Medical Journal; Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine (now published as Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance); and Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. He was in the U.S. Army Reserve as a flight surgeon, including 2 deployments to the Middle East. Dr. Holt specializes in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery and brings with him a background in bioethics and health policy. He was a 1991 NASA astronaut selection candidate and won the Health Care Heroes Lifetime Achievement Award for Medicine in San Antonio in 2009. In his new role as editor-in-chief of The Permanente Journal, he will serve a 5-year term.

The Permanente Federation acknowledges and thanks Stephen Tarnoff, MD, who served a 2-year term as interim editor-in-chief, and founding editor-in-chief Tom Janisse, MD, formerly of Northwest Permanente, for laying the groundwork for The Permanente Journal’s continued success during his 23-year tenure as editor-in-chief.

The Permanente Journal is open for submissions by clinicians and researchers from all institutions, with representation from the entire care team. The journal will prioritize papers on topics in line with its new Aims and Scope, as well as continue to provide a platform for clinical medicine literature. The Permanente Journal is indexed in PubMed and PubMed Central. It is fully open access, and authors enjoy broad worldwide distribution without article-processing charges.

About The Permanente Journal

The Permanente Journal, published by The Permanente Federation, is a premier publication for content related to health care delivery science, value-based and high-value care, and clinical and applied research. An open-access publication, The Permanente Journal has been publishing research on the practices of high-quality, evidence-based, equitable, and value-based and high-value care since 1997.

About The Permanente Federation

The Permanente Federation LLC is the national leadership and consulting organization for the 8 Permanente Medical Groups, which, together with the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, comprise Kaiser Permanente. The Federation works on behalf of the Permanente Medical Groups to optimize care delivery and spread Permanente Medicine — medicine that is person- and family-centered, compassionate, evidence-based, technology-enabled, culturally responsive, team-delivered, and physician-led. The Federation, based in Oakland, California, fosters an open learning environment and accelerates research, innovation, and performance improvements across the Permanente Medical Groups to expand the reach of Kaiser Permanente’s integrated care delivery model and to lead the nation in transforming health care.