The Journal of General Internal Medicine (JGIM) has appointed Stanford Health Policy’s Steve Asch as an editor-in-chief.

JGIM is the highest rated journal for primary care research in the world. It publishes research on health services, implementation science, medical education and the humanities in addition to primary care.

Asch, a professor of medicine and the chief of health services research at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System, joins two other editors-in-chief to screen articles and guide the journal’s direction.

“Steve is widely known as an outstanding writer and editor, and as having very broad methodological expertise,” said Douglas Owens, director of the Center for Health Policy/Primary Care and Outcomes Research. “He's a terrific choice to lead JGIM.”

Asch’s work focuses on quality improvement, and he has lead several national projects to develop tools that measure quality of care for veterans, Medicare users and the public. An avid mentor, Asch has trained dozens of physician fellows in health services research at Stanford and the VA system.

“We’re going to try to get research out there where it can make a difference in the world,” said Asch.

The editor team plans to focus more on best practices and implementation science. By combining the efforts of many researchers, they hope to ensure that doctors get the best answers to the big questions in health care.

“I think it’s going to be fun,” said Asch.

He looks forward to mentoring researchers to submit articles to journals like JGIM.

“Primary care is important,” said Asch. “As the health-care system transforms, it will play an increasingly important role, and the journal is very much in the lead in trying to publish new ways of organizing primary care.”