From January 2010 the BMJ will publish all original research articles first online, with no word limit and open access to the full text. The print journal will contain only abridged, single page abstracts of about 550 words, called “BMJ pico,” which are supplied by authors according to templates provided for each study design (http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/authors/article-submission/bmj-pico-abridged-research-articles). For randomised controlled trials, the template includes prompts for study question, summary answer, design, outcome, main results, bias and confounding, and potential competing interests. In a pilot survey of readers, 66% said that reading BMJ picos encouraged them to read the full versions on bmj.com (http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/authors/article-submission/bmj-pico-of-pico-surveys).
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