Saudi Medical Journal was launched in 1979. It was the initiative and the vision of His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector-General, who blessed and supported its beginning. The Journal has been published regularly since 1979. Enthusiastic staff worked hard to maintain the excellence of the Journal. Major General Dr. Abdul Hamid Al-Faraidi was founding Editor and the leader of this Journal for all of the 18 years.
The Editorial Office has been run since its inception by a number of distinguished colleagues, some of whom are still involved in a full or advisory capacity. During this period the Journal gained a distinguished reputation, worldwide credibility, and its content to be original and of high standards. Many changes have been made recently to ensure perfection.
All publishing and editorial operations have been moved from London to Riyadh, thus reducing the processing and publication time, without compromising the quality of the contents, the Journal size was increased, the rate of submission from out-of-kingdom increased considerably reaching 49%. The rejection rate of the articles is approximately 80%, which gives an indication of the high-quality requirements necessary for publishing in the Journal. The number of copies and channels of distribution are tuned to satisfy the increasing number of medical institutes and medical personnel in the Kingdom and the Middle East.
However, at the moment, the Saudi Medical Journal is playing the very essential role of a bridge between the medical culture in the Middle East and in the West, where it is considered a tool to understand and recognize the modules and quality of the medical profession together with the clinical approaches to medical problems being confronted in our area. Saudi Medical Journal has been and will continue to be a symbol of national pride and an important medium for medical knowledge.
