Evaluation of Trends in the use of the Internet by Pharmacy Publications: An Observational Study

Evidence-based medicine necessitates access to published scientific literature by health care professionals. Historically, publications have been available only in print journals, where cost constraints limit the length and features of these publications. In the last decade, several publications have created online versions or adopted the open access (OA) model, a publishing model in which all content is made freely available via the World Wide Web (Web) after publication. The evolution of electronic publishing has removed traditional print constraints and offered several new advantages, including the publication of online-only and ahead of print articles. Additionally, many publications have exploited the popularity of social media (often referred to as Web 2.0) and other specialty applications to communicate with readers. For example, distribution of content via really simple syndication (RSS) affords readers the ability to channel updates from numerous publications to a single Web-based device.

The use of the Web by medical publications has been evaluated by a limited number of investigators.^1,2 The Web sites of 18 journals pertaining to general infectious diseases (ID) and infection control and hospital epidemiology were evaluated for a set of 24 Web interface characteristics and online features. The authors noted that electronic reference linking, archives, e-mail alerts, and links to external resources are some of the features of electronic journals that users in the ID specialty may find useful. ¹ In another study, the Web sites of 138 high-impact print journals were analyzed to characterize the use of online-only supplementary material, functionality of journal Web sites, and the use of rapid-response online letter-to-the-editor features. The authors concluded that journal Web sites offer similar functionality and that the use of online-only articles and supplements was increasing. ²

In a 2008 pharmacy-focused study, the formats of 317 pharmacy-related journals were categorized according to an OA classification scheme. The majority of publications (n = 240) were identified as traditional/non-OA, in which journals did not permit access to content for free and required transfer of copyright or placed restrictions on use. Only 2 journals were considered OA. The authors noted the paucity of pharmacy-focused OA journals and highlighted related concerns, including the potential for suboptimal dissemination of pharmacists' work. ³

The content and features of online pharmacy publications have not been formally evaluated. The objective of this study is to identify and evaluate trends in the use of the Internet and social media by pharmacy publications.

Methods

The print and online versions of 10 pharmacy publications were compared at 2 different time periods separated by 3 years for similarities and differences in content and presentation ( Table 1 ). Selected issues for evaluation were July 2007 and February 2010. Characteristics and functions were evaluated for online publications, including subscription requirements for online access, the dates of online archived material, pre- and postpublication features, hyperlinks, e-mail notifications, and the use of social media and other specialty applications (Appendix). The presence or absence of these features was determined by inspecting each publication's Web site within a 2-day timeframe during each year's analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to compare data.

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Table 1.

Pharmacy publications evaluated (n = 10)

American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP)

The Annals of Pharmacotherapy

Drug Topics

Hospital Pharmacy

International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding (IJPC)

Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA)

Pharmacist's Letter

Pharmacotherapy

Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T)

Pharmacy Times

Results

Between 2007 and 2010, the online functionality of the selected pharmacy publications increased in 52% (12/23) of the features assessed ( Table 2 ). Among these expanded features, the median percent increase was 20%. Overall, none of the features decreased in availability from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, the median number of online features offered by the selected pharmacy publications was 8 (range, 2 to 18). The 2 most prevalent online features among publications in 2007 and 2010 were article availability in portable document format (pdf) (available in 90% of publications in 2007 and 2010) and the ability to submit articles online (available in 70% and 90% of publications in 2007 and 2010, respectively). All publications offered online access to either pdf or full-text articles. The online features most adopted during the study timeframe were the ability to e-mail friends about an article (increased by 40%) and personal archive capability (increased by 30%).

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Table 2.

Percent of selected pharmacy publications offering online features: 2007 vs 2010 (n = 10)

Online feature (n = 24)	Publications with feature (%)
	2007	2010
Publication features
Portable document format (pdf) articles	90	90
Full-text article format	60	60
Continuing education offered online	30	40
Online-only articles	20	40
Ahead of print online articles	10	20
Patient-friendly explanations	20	20
Personal digital assistant (PDA) download of content	10	20
Interactive case studies	10	10
PowerPoint slides of article content	0	0
Postpublication features
Personal archive capability	0	30
Citation manager	20	20
Online-only letters	10	20
E-mail features
Article to friend	20	60
Table of contents (eTOC)	60	60
(If) Article is corrected	NA	20
(When) Article is cited	20	20
Hyperlink features
Abstracts or full-text articles from references	50	70
Author's other articles	30	50
PubMed	40	40
Related articles	30	40
Articles that cited article	10	30
Reference from text citation	20	20
Search engines	20	20
Other features
Article submission online	70	90

Note: NA = not assessed.

In 2010, the majority of publications offered social media or other specialty applications (80%) ( Table 3 ). The median number of these features offered by the selected pharmacy publications was 2 (range, 0 to 6). RSS was the most commonly utilized application (60%), whereas no publications offered content through Amazon's Kindle or YouTube.

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Table 3.

Percent of selected pharmacy publications offering social media or specialty applications: 2010 (n = 10)

Social media or specialty application (n = 10)	Publications with feature (%)
Really simple syndication (RSS)	60
Facebook	50
Twitter	40
E-mail network, podcasts, smart phone application	20
Blog, LinkedIn	10
Kindle wireless reading device, YouTube	0

As of October 2010, the majority of publications required a paid subscription for online access to full-text and/or pdf content (60%) ( Table 4 ). All publications affiliated with a professional association required a paid subscription for nonmember access. The dates of oldest available online archived material ranged from 1997 to 2006 (median, 2001).

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Table 4.

Subscription and archive characteristics of selected pharmacy publications: 2010

Pharmacy publication (n = 10)	Paid subscription required for online access	Oldest available online issue a
Hospital Pharmacy	No b	2006 c
Drug Topics	No	2005
Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA) d	Yes	2002
Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T)	No b	2002
Pharmacy Times	No	2001
Pharmacotherapy d	Yes	1999
The Annals of Pharmacotherapy	Yes	1998
American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy (AJHP) d	Yes	1997
International Journal of Pharmaceutical Compounding (IJPC) d	Yes	1997
Pharmacist's Letter	Yes	Archived by category

^a

Full-text and/or portable document format (pdf).

^b

Registration required.

^c

Archives prior to 2006 available free on Google Scholar.

^d

Affiliated with association.