EIO update

Interview with Thierry Ponchon, Editor-in-Chief of Endoscopy International Open

EIO: Why did you decide to become the Editor-in-Chief of EIO?

TP: I found this to be a great opportunity to reinforce communication between clinical endoscopists, colleagues performing their endoscopy procedures on an everyday basis in their medical practices and the clinical researchers who often do their great job at “high end” endoscopy units with excellent technical equipment. For colleagues in hospitals for primary and secondary care, clinical research is one interest, but another is post graduate education and training.

The open access model offers these colleagues an easy and broad access to articles which are dealing with practical approaches and solutions to challenges they face every day. These are very often articles which would not necessarily be in the focus of a specialized scientific journal because they are also adapted for use in everyday practice.

As responsible for a big unit in France I know how much pressure there is regarding regulations in sedation, cleaning and hygienic aspects. Very often it is not only the technical aspect of a method or treatment, but the whole management around to keep the department up and running which needs a lot of our time and concentration.

Additionally I have been active in many boards and committees dealing with scientific and clinical research – on a national and also European and international level. So I know that there is a need to support especially the practitioners to improve their situation in private practices and clinical units. Therefore, I see the knowledge transfer from bench to bedside as one of our main tasks.

During my travels I was happy to learn a lot about the situations in different regions and countries and I strongly believe that the approach of EIO with its focus on regional research and clinical studies is most valuable for these regions, the respective countries and the endoscopists located there.

EIO: What were your experiences since the foundation of EIO in December 2013? How is working with such an international team?

TP: The Co-Editors where very enthusiastic when being asked if they wanted to join our group. They liked the idea a lot, and we now have a truly international group!

Up to now, I have only received enthusiastic and positive feedback from authors, reviewers, editors and other colleagues. This helped me a lot because I could clearly see that other people share our ideas for EIO and its future. With this support in mind we hope to develop a great and interesting journal for everybody in the endoscopic world.

EIO: What are your plans for the future of EIO?

TP: At first, I hope that we will receive even more articles from different countries, especially developing countries like Thailand or Sri Lanka. They have not always the same access to expertise and technical equipment and they sometimes are not yet experienced in publishing their results. We want to support them and offer them a platform to share everyday issues, problems and tips.

One major goal is indexing in the different, most important data bases, which will be done as soon as possible.

I would also like to establish different sections and new fields of content for our journal, in order to have more variety regarding topics and fields of interest.

EIO: What is, in your opinion, special or unique about EIO?

TP: What is special about EIO is the rapid processing of the articles and the fast and timely publication. Due to its open access model, its widespread access is a considerable USP for the new journal. The journal has more focus on regional needs and expectations and therefore, the reviewing process has been adapted accordingly. Furthermore, EIO fits the expectations and needs of clinical endoscopists, young researchers and private practitioners. EIO is a very good option if publication as an open access article is required.

Best regards

Thierry Ponchon

Editor-in-Chief

Thierry Ponchon Lyon, France – Editor-in-Chief

Professor Thierry Ponchon is a specialist in hepatogastroenterology and Director of the gastroenterology unit at Edouard Hospital, Lyon. He received his medical training at Lyon Medical University and is member of the board of the National French Society of Gastroenterology and the European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE), among others. He was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Endoscopy. His main focus is on digestive endoscopy, esophageal carcinoma, colorectal cancer screening and biliopancreatic diseases.