Medical publisher SLACK Inc. has announced the launch of a consumer magazine for doctors. Targeting affluent, time-starved doctors who aspire to lead rich, fulfilling lives outside of work, Physicians' Life launches this spring with the May/June issue. With a circulation of 341,000, the new consumer title will reach almost half of all practicing physicians nationwide. The upscale magazine will cover money, family and relationships (medical marriages included), technology, travel, food, entertainment, and other lifestyle topics - providing a welcome reprieve from the stresses of navigating through today's medical maze.
Physicians' Life claims to be the first consumer title from SLACK, which publishes 44 medical journals and over 300 books, and hosts a variety of educational courses and conferences. With medical publishing in its DNA, SLACK’s senior leadership team, headed by CEO Peter Slack, saw an opportunity to provide doctors with a magazine of their own. Today's physicians work longer and harder than ever—the need for a doctor-focused consumer publication to serve as their lifestyle concierge has never been greater.
To support this editorial concept, extensive surveying and focus groups were conducted over the past two years with overwhelmingly favourable results. Among 2,600 doctors who previewed a prototype of Physicians' Life, 71 percent said they would be likely or very likely to read the magazine. Topics related to finance and peer-to-peer themes generated the greatest interest, with topics such as favourite automobiles, building a home gym, and escapes to exotic locales resonating high. When told that articles were selected and reviewed by a board of practicing physicians, 79 percent said this made a positive impact on the credibility of the magazine.
Dr. Gregory Hood, a practicing internist in Lexington, KY, has been tapped as Physician Editor, with Beth Weinhouse serving as Editorial Director. Dr. Hood has spent the last 15 years as a medical writer for Medical Economics, Medscape Business of Medicine and the Annals of Internal Medicine, among others. He is a member of many boards and committees and holds degrees from Johns Hopkins, and the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
Prior to joining Physician's Life, Weinhouse was deputy editor of Parenting magazine and editorial director of Conceive, where she supervised content of a quarterly magazine, website, radio show, e-newsletters and books. Her extensive journalism experience spans editorial stints at Ladies' Home Journal, Self, Child, and Reader's Digest, as well as articles published in magazines such as Glamour, Good Housekeeping, Town & Country, Harper's Bazaar and Travel & Leisure.
