Bibliometric analysis provides us with highly useful measures of scientific output and quality according to specialty and topic, research center, or country. An understanding of what research is being done and where it is carried out and by whom is an essential starting point for increasing productivity. Above all, however, this knowledge is the key to improving quality and facilitating collaboration between different Spanish hospital groups.

The study by Molina-Leyva et al.1 in this issue provides a snapshot of the state of dermatology research carried out in Spain from 2005 to 2014. The authors assess output in terms of quantity (number of articles published) and quality (number of cites per article) according to geographic area, health center, and specialty or topic.

The results are of great interest and well presented, and this article might well be considered a “white paper” on Spanish clinical research in dermatology. Furthermore, the study was designed to be reproducible, so change over time can be tracked to identify trends in our specialty.