Why do we need another case reports journal I hear you ask? History tells us why. In 2010, IJS Publishing Group (IJSPG) launched Elsevier’s first open access journal, IJS Case Reports [1]. Back then we had the Cases Journal, BMJ Case Reports and many others. So, case reports journals already existed, and the same question was asked. The Cases journal soon folded [2] and IJS Case Reports went on to publish more surgical case reports than any other journal in the world according to SCOPUS.

When launching a new title, a number of factors are important. The scope, audience, gap in the market, unmet needs, understanding pain points and a healthy dose of innovation are useful. With AMS case reports we are developing a sister journal to Annals of Medicine and Surgery (AMS), a successful journal brand already in the IJSPG portfolio. AMS was launched in 2012 and aimed to extend the group beyond surgery. It has been a success with over 500 gold open access articles now published in AMS.

AMS Case Reports will help draw in more medical case reports to IJSPG (and perhaps even more surgical ones). Why would authors come to this new journal in a crowded market? Excellent customer service, low author pay’s charges (APCs) and the backing of a fast-moving and successful journal publishing group in IJSPG (www.ijspg.com) are certainly some of the reasons. IJSPG together with its partners, has now published over 8,000 articles involving over 20,000 authors. In order to do this, there has to be a relentless focus and commitment to a high-quality peer-review process, driving down submission to decision times and acceptance to publication times as well as leveraging technology that helps our authors and reviewers be more productive.

AMS Case Reports is launching on our new platform, IJS Press (www.ijspress.com). Where are mission is to drive forward open science and access through collaboration. We hope you will engage with the journal and the wider press in the coming years and provide us with feedback to aid continual development.