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How we work

Prescrire's systematic, collective editing process ensures reliable, independent analysis

Prescrire's reviews, written by specially trained healthcare professionals, are based on an exhaustive search of the literature, and undergo scrutiny by a large panel of outside reviewers plus rigorous quality control procedures.

All the reviews published in Prescrire (aside from a few clearly labelled exceptions, such as readers' letters) are written by Prescrire's Editorial Staff. Prescrire does not publish unsolicited manuscripts from outside contributors. The production of reviews draws upon a wide range of skills, and follows Prescrire's sytematic, collective editorial process. This team approach is reflected in the collective byline "©Prescrire".

Prescrire Editorial Process

> A systematic, collective editorial process (pdf, 416 Ko)

Written and edited by healthcare professionals

Prescrire's editors are physicians (both general practitioners and specialists, working in the community and in hospitals), pharmacists (working in pharmacies or hospitals), nurses and dentists, and other health professionals. A few are economists or journalists with specific expertise in the area of healthcare. All Prescrire editors have received extensive in-house training in Prescrire's editorial production process. To download the latest masthead, see the
> Table of Contents of the Current issue

Editors free from conflicts of interest

The absence of any direct or indirect financial links to the pharmaceutical industry, health authorities or health insurers is an absolute requirement to be a member of the Prescrire team. Any such link is cause for dismissal from the Prescrire Editorial Staff.
> No conflicts of interest

A vast network of reviewers

Once they are in an advanced stage of editing and quality control, draft reviews are sent to outside reviewers (10 to 40 reviewers read each draft at this stage). These reviewers critique each article in terms of content, style, relevance, newsworthiness, presentation of arguments and usefulness in daily practice. The reviewers are specialists in the subject being discussed, methodologists, or healthcare professionals representative of Prescrire's readers (and chosen from their midst).

©Prescrire January 2022