The International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) recently released its latest guidance—GPP3, or Good Publication Practice 3. This is the first update of the ISMPP guidance since GPP2 was released in 2009. A steering committee first met to draft the guidance, and then ProEd colleagues, Laura McCormick, PhD; Heather Hlousek, and Jim Cozzarin, ELS, had the privilege, with 91 reviewers (from agencies and sponsors), to provide critical feedback before the new guidance was published in Annals of Internal Medicine.1
So, what are the important changes from GPP2? In addition to being more user-friendly than its predecessor—with an overall simplification of language and format, a new Guiding Principles section, and quick reference tables that address guidance on authorship criteria and common authorship issues—GPP3 also reflects some important updates and new elements1:
- Updated International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) 2013 authorship criteria
- Common issues regarding authorship
- Improved clarity on author payment and reimbursement
- Additional clarity on what constitutes ghost or guest authorship
- Expanded information on the role and benefit of professional medical writers
- Guidance for appropriate data sharing