About Die Innere Medizin

Die Innere Medizin

Die Innere Medizin is the largest German-language specialist journal for internal medicine, published monthly by Springer Medizin in Berlin as part of Springer Nature. Until May 2022 it appeared under the title Der Internist, which it had carried since its founding in 1960, before being renamed as part of a broad gender-inclusivity initiative by the publisher that replaced titles based on male professional designations with titles based on medical disciplines. The journal reaches around 40,000 readers, making it the biggest German-language journal for specialists, and it is published in cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin (DGIM) and the Berufsverband Deutscher Internistinnen und Internisten (BDI), whose official organ it is. Each issue is built around a lead theme presented in review articles by recognized experts, supplemented by case reports and certified continuing medical education.

Overview

Die Innere Medizin addresses internists in office-based practice and hospitals, as well as general practitioners and practitioners with a special interest in internal medicine. With around 40,000 readers, it is the largest German-language specialist journal, a reach that reflects both the size of the internal medicine community and the journal's institutional distribution through the professional societies, which place it in the hands of their members.

The journal appears twelve times a year, a monthly rhythm it has maintained since its founding in 1960. The core of each issue is formed by review articles on a lead theme, written by recognized experts and conveying secured knowledge with high relevance for daily work, giving readers concrete recommendations for action. Case reports show interesting individual cases and unusual courses of disease or treatment. The CME certified-training rubric offers secured results of scientific research and makes physicians' experience usable for daily practice; after reading the articles, readers can test their knowledge online and earn CME points, with the rubric aligned to the specialty's training regulations.

The journal is indexed in the major scientific databases, including the Science Citation Index, Science Citation Index Expanded, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, and the SCImago index. Its impact factor was recorded at 0.329 in 2012, placing it in the general and internal medicine category of the Journal Citation Reports. The editorial board includes Dieter Burchert, Dagmar Führer-Sakel, Michael Hallek, Hermann Haller, Gerd Hasenfuß, Norma Jung, Elisabeth Märker-Hermann, Michael P. Manns, Joachim Mössner, Martin Reincke, Bernd Salzberger, Sebastian M. Schellong, C. C. Sieber, Claus Franz Vogelmeier, and Tobias Welte, a roster that spans the major subspecialties of internal medicine.

History

The journal was founded in 1960 as Der Internist, published by Springer in Berlin, Göttingen, and Heidelberg. From the start it served as the organ of the Berufsverband Deutscher Internisten and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin, giving it an official standing in the internal medicine community. Over the decades it accumulated a rich supplement history: the Mitteilungen of the professional association, the DGIM's announcements, the Wissen aktuell and Pharmawissen aktuell inserts, and the certified continuing-education supplements.

The bibliographic record documents the journal's continuous run from volume 1 in 1960 through volume 63, issue 6 in June 2022, at which point the title changed to Die Innere Medizin, preserving more than six decades of unbroken publication history. In April 2022, Springer Medizin had announced the renaming as part of its sweeping equality initiative, in which titles based on male professional designations were replaced with titles based on the medical disciplines themselves, following the concept of "Der Facharzt" becoming "Die Fachdisziplin". Der Internist became Die Innere Medizin in the same wave that turned Der Anaesthesist into Die Anaesthesiologie, Der Chirurg into Die Chirurgie, Der Gynäkologe into Die Gynäkologie, Der Hautarzt into Die Dermatologie, Der Onkologe into Die Onkologie, and Der Diabetologe into Die Diabetologie. The renaming preserved the journal's continuity, with volume numbering continuing seamlessly.

The journal remains among Springer Medizin's ten most-read journals, listed alongside MMW Fortschritte der Medizin, Monatsschrift Kinderheilkunde, Die Anaesthesiologie, Die Chirurgie, and Der Nervenarzt. Its position as the largest German-language specialist journal has been maintained across the title change.

Coverage and Content

The journal covers all aspects of internal medicine, with prevention, diagnostic approaches, complication management, and modern therapy strategies in the foreground. Each issue stands under a lead theme, presented in review articles by recognized experts, giving readers an authoritative overview of a current topic. The lead-theme format allows the journal to address the full breadth of internal medicine over the course of a year, from cardiology and gastroenterology through pneumology, nephrology, endocrinology, rheumatology, haematology, and oncology.

Case reports illustrate interesting individual cases and unusual courses of disease or treatment, providing the kind of practical illustration that clinicians value. The CME certified-training rubric offers secured results of scientific research for daily practice, with online knowledge testing and CME points. The journal also serves the DGIM's communication needs: its page on the publisher's website presents it as the society's organ journal, informing members about important diagnostic and therapeutic developments in internal medicine.

The journal's content also engages with broader professional questions. Recent scholarly analysis of the journal's pages has examined how interprofessional concepts are addressed in its articles, finding a current publication focus on complex care situations in geriatrics, palliative medicine, and oncology. The DGIM's digital training offerings, including the DGIM e.Akademie and the Klug entscheiden certificate course on indication quality, complement the journal's continuing-education mission.

Organization and Ownership

Die Innere Medizin is published by Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, the medical publishing division of Springer Nature, headquartered in Berlin. The journal is published in cooperation with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Innere Medizin and the Berufsverband Deutscher Internistinnen und Internisten, and it serves as the official organ of both organizations. This dual society partnership gives the journal a central institutional position in German internal medicine.

The editorial board is led by Dieter Burchert, Dagmar Führer-Sakel, Michael Hallek, Hermann Haller, Gerd Hasenfuß, Norma Jung, Elisabeth Märker-Hermann, Michael P. Manns, Joachim Mössner, Martin Reincke, Bernd Salzberger, Sebastian M. Schellong, C. C. Sieber, Claus Franz Vogelmeier, and Tobias Welte. The journal's indexing in the Science Citation Index, MEDLINE, Scopus, and other databases underpins its scholarly standing. Its authorized ISSN is 0020-9554 for the print edition, with the online edition carrying ISSN 1432-1289.

Digital Presence

Die Innere Medizin is fully integrated into Springer Medizin's digital ecosystem. The journal's page on the publisher's website presents its aims and scope, the current and recent issues, and the standard rubrics of lead-theme reviews, case reports, and CME courses. The DGIM's member information page presents the journal as the society's organ journal, alongside the DGIM e.Akademie digital training platform and the e.Medpedia digital encyclopedia to which DGIM members have access.

The journal's digital identity lives within the Springer Medizin and Springer Nature Link platforms rather than on a standalone brand site, which is standard for the publisher's specialist journals. Subscription and customer service are handled through the publisher's service centre, which manages subscriptions, address changes, and website access, and the editorial office can be contacted directly through the platform. DGIM members access the journal alongside the society's digital training offerings through their Springer Medizin login. Whether the journal maintains dedicated social media channels is not publicly confirmed from the sources consulted, and its online presence remains centred on the publisher's platforms.