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Objective:
The usage of online journals for the dissemination of research has clear benefits, but quantifying the speed at which this information is published online in the field of radiology has not previously been investigated. While the overarching benefits of online journal platforms are universally recognized—from lower overhead costs for publishers and easier access for readers to the rapid global dissemination of research—the specific metrics concerning the speed of this publication process in the field of radiology have not been adequately explored to date. In this study, we evaluated the trends in the time for an article to be accepted (TTA) as well as the time for that same article to be published online after acceptance (TTP).

Materials and Methods:
We selected four of the leading journals in “Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging” as defined by the 2022 edition of Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and identified all of the articles from 2012–2022. The journals included were JACC Cardiovascular Imaging, Medical Image Analysis, RSNA: Artificial Intelligence, and Journal of Nuclear Medicine. We excluded any journals that had insufficient publication data and any articles that were also identified as nonresearch items (e.g., editorials, letters to editors, etc.). For the articles in each journal, we calculated the time in days, from the date of article receipt to article acceptance (TTA) as well as from the date of acceptance to online publication (TTP) from the years 2012–2022. The Mann-Kendall test was used to assess for monotonic trends over time. The Theil-Sen regression was used to estimate rates of change for significant results.

Results:
Out of 15,270 articles, 9854 were analyzed. All four journals exhibited a significant TTP trend (2012–2022). Journal of Nuclear Medicine had an increased TTP, while the others showed a decrease. For TTA, three journals displayed significant trends. JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging increased, whereas two others (Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Medical Image Analysis) decreased. The Theil-Sen method yielded an average decrease of 2.07 days per year in TTA and an average decrease of 1.55 days per year in TTP. Additionally, TTA trend slopes ranged from -.018–.006, and TTP trend slopes ranged from -.035–.038.

Conclusion:
This study uncovers significant temporal trends in TTA and TTP across prominent radiology journals from 2012–2022. Most journals experienced a decreasing trend in both TTA and TTP. This suggests an increasing efficiency in both the peer-review process and the subsequent steps leading to online publication. The observed decline in TTA indicates that manuscripts are moving more swiftly through the initial review and revision stages. Similarly, the reduction in TTP implies that once an article has been accepted, journals are becoming more adept at the remaining stages of the publishing process. Further exploration of this topic could unveil deeper patterns in publication speed, possible causes, and the effects of these changes.