We Are Soliciting Your Patient Stories

The editorial team for the Journal of the American Medical Association series, Care of the Aging Patient: From Evidence to Action invites you to contribute a patient story to inspire a future article.

Contributors whose Patient Story is selected for an article will be acknowledged in JAMA and will receive a $500 honorarium. In addition, the editorial team can provide a letter confirming this peer-reviewed contribution.

About the Series

Care of the Aging Patient is produced by a University of California, San Francisco editorial team and appears bi-monthly in JAMA. The case-based series is designed to inform clinical practice and influence policy in care of older individuals. Excerpts from patient, family, and clinician interviews, along with the Patient's Story case history, drive the narrative of an evidence-based, peer-reviewed article that is authored by an invited expert in the field. Cases illustrate the approach and management of the entire spectrum of geriatric syndromes and disease, including the psycho-social-spiritual aspects of aging.

Choosing a Patient Story

We seek compelling patient stories that introduce a topic that will be of interest to JAMA's readers. Topics of particular interest for the series can be viewed here. Other topics will also be considered. We currently have specific needs for patient stories surrounding the topics of 1) challenging decision-making surrounding complex comorbid conditions, 2) diabetes management, 3) sleep disorders in the elderly, 4) congestive heart failure, and 5) caring for aging patients in rural settings.

For each patient story, relevant participants should be available for an interview with the Managing Editor of "Care of the Aging Patient." These participants ideally include the patient, a family member, the main physician, and others on the care team.

Requirements for Submission

• Identify Patient and Relevant Members of Care Team
  Potential contributors should identify the relevant parties to participate in interviews. In general, these include the patient and/or a surrogate, the doctor and/or other interdisciplinary team members, and those central to the patient's story (e.g., a family member, caregiver, or other health professional).

• Obtain Written Consent
  Patients and all other interview participants are required by JAMA to sign a consent form. Please obtain written consent before completing the Patient Story Template (see below).
  A .pdf of the JAMA consent form maybe downloaded here. Please return the signed form to the mailing address or fax number listed in the Contact section below.

• Complete the Patient Story Template
  The Patient Story template should be completed, and submitted to Phil Tiso before the next round of reviews on July 15, 2012.
  The Patient Story Template is available for download as a Word file.

Patient Interviews

Once you are notified that your Patient Story has been selected, we will ask that you arrange the introduction of our editor to the patient or surrogate (by telephone or otherwise). The editor will describe the interview process and conduct interviews with the patient or a surrogate, the doctor or other clinician, and any other person central to the case. In the event that consent is withdrawn or the interviews cannot be completed, the submission will not be considered further.

Payment of Honoraria and Acknowledgment

You will receive the honorarium when the interviews have been completed. The Patient's Story and interview transcripts will be shared with the invited author of the JAMA article. In addition, the full text of the selected Patient Story and its interviews will be posted anonymously on the JAMA Web site. We will notify you of the publication of the article featuring your patient, and provide you with a reprint in .pdf format.

Contact

Please send signed consent forms, the completed Patient Story Template, and any questions to:
Phil Tiso
1545 Divisadero Street, Box 0320 San Francisco, CA 94143-0320
Fax: (415) 514-8666
Email:

"Care of the Aging Patient: From Evidence to Action" Collection on the JAMA Website

"Care of the Aging Patient: From Evidence to Action" is produced and edited at the University of California, San Francisco by C. Seth Landefeld, MD (senior editor), Louise Aronson MD, MFA (co-editor), Anna Chang, MD (co-editor), Stephen J. McPhee, MD (co-editor) and Louise Walter, MD (co-editor), Amy J. Markowitz, JD (managing editor). The Section Editor at JAMA is Margaret A. Winker, MD.