Dear Readers,

The Roundtable Journal on Health Policy (RJHP) is a multi-disciplinary collection of works that focuses on discussing issues in politics, society, and healthcare. The scope of the Journal is broad as it aims to capture the diverse landscape in which healthcare professionals, policymakers, and patients exist. We are living in compelling times, as healthcare continues to be at the forefront of political discourse. The care and wellbeing of patients, now more than ever, depends on the shifting tides of societal attitudes and governmental policy. This is why, now more than ever, there is a need for discussions regarding these issues.

RJHP was founded in order to provide an outlet for these discussions. Medical students, albeit at the beginning of their medical careers, recognize many of the challenges in healthcare today and with respect to the future. However, due to rigorous curricula, and a necessary focus on basic and clinical sciences, these other healthcare discussions seldom surface. This is why such an outlet is essential. The aim of the Journal is to increase proficiency in health policy such that the next generation of physicians are well equipped to understand not only their patients, but also the big picture of healthcare itself.

Skills that physicians traditionally were expected to learn through on-the-job training, skills such as team leadership and cost-sensitive judgements, are quickly coming to the forefront of modern healthcare policy and management. Such skills can be mastered faster and earlier by active engagement in education through venues such as RJHP. If these discussions begin at such an early stage, then change and consequential improvement throughout the healthcare system may be realized at an alarming rate.

RJHP builds a foundation for the future of healthcare by inviting medical students to submit works on the issues and status of healthcare today. Not only will this allow for an increase in health policy proficiency among students themselves, but it will also surely engage readers from a variety of fields and stages of their careers. This will expand and enhance the dialogue on healthy policy that is vital to professionals, and ultimately, patients.

We invite you to submit your work in order to further these conversations. We hope you enjoy this inaugural issue of the Roundtable Journal on Health Policy.

Sincerely,

Anurag Saraf, MD
Evan Hy Einstein, MD, MPH

RJHP Founders

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