Editor—In his letter on an editorial oversight committee for the BMJ Sackett makes patently false statements about the New England Journal of Medicine and the Massachusetts Medical Society.1 The society has never during my tenure or that of my predecessors suggested accepting or declining a paper for any reason, let alone a commercial one. The journal's editors have complete editorial independence.
The statements made by Sackett must be corrected to set the record straight; an apology is due to the journal and the Massachusetts Medical Society.
Competing interests: JMD is editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.
References
- 1.Sackett DL. Editorial independence at the BMJ. BMJ 2004;329: 350. (7 August.) [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]