Journal Policies

Precision Medical and Health Journal (PMHJ) adheres to internationally recognized standards of scholarly publishing. These policies ensure transparency, integrity, and reliability in the research we publish, in line with global practices adopted by leading publishers.

Peer Review Policy

PMHJ employs a double-blind peer review system, where both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other throughout the process. Each submission is evaluated by at least two independent reviewers who are experts in the relevant subject area.

The review process focuses on the originality, validity, methodological rigor, ethical soundness, and relevance of the research. Reviewers are asked to provide constructive comments that will help authors improve their work. The editorial board carefully considers all reviewer feedback before making a decision, which may include: acceptance, minor revisions, major revisions, or rejection.

The Editor-in-Chief retains the final authority over acceptance or rejection. To maintain quality and fairness, PMHJ follows the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Ethical Policy

PMHJ is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in research and publishing. The journal adheres to the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the ICMJE Recommendations, and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

Authors are required to declare that their work is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not under consideration by another journal. All authors must disclose any conflicts of interest and provide statements regarding ethical approval for studies involving human or animal participants.

Cases of misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate submission, or unethical research practices, will result in immediate rejection or retraction of the article and may be reported to the author’s institution.

Open Access Policy

PMHJ is an open access journal. All articles are freely and permanently available online immediately after publication, without subscription or paywall restrictions. This ensures global dissemination and accessibility of published research.

The journal publishes articles under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-ND 4.0). Under this license:

Readers are free to copy, share, and redistribute articles in any medium or format.
Commercial and non-commercial use is permitted, provided that proper credit is given to the authors and the journal.
No modifications, adaptations, or derivative works are allowed to ensure the integrity of the original publication.

Copyright Policy

Authors retain the copyright of their published work. By submitting an article to PMHJ, authors grant the journal the right of first publication. Articles are published under the CC BY-ND 4.0 license, which guarantees that authors receive full credit for their work while allowing free distribution without alteration.

Authors may reuse their work for scholarly purposes, presentations, teaching, or inclusion in future works such as theses or books, provided the original publication in PMHJ is properly cited.

Self-Archiving Policy

To promote visibility and citation, PMHJ permits authors to deposit versions of their article in institutional repositories, subject repositories (e.g., PubMed Central, ResearchGate), or personal websites. The final published version (Version of Record) may be archived, provided it includes a link to the official publication on the journal’s website.

Plagiarism Policy

PMHJ strictly prohibits plagiarism in all forms. All submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening using plagiarism detection software. A similarity index greater than 15% (excluding references) may lead to rejection or return for revision.

Types of plagiarism considered unacceptable include:

Copying text, figures, or tables without attribution.
Paraphrasing substantial portions of another’s work.
Duplicate submission or publication in multiple journals.

Authors found guilty of plagiarism will face rejection of their manuscript and potential blacklisting from future submissions. In cases where plagiarism is identified after publication, PMHJ will issue a retraction in line with COPE guidelines.

Erratum and Retraction Policy

Accuracy in scientific publishing is of utmost importance. If errors are discovered post-publication that do not affect the overall validity of the research, PMHJ will issue an Erratum to correct the record.

If major errors or misconduct (e.g., data falsification, plagiarism, ethical violations) are discovered that compromise the reliability of the article, the journal will issue a Retraction Notice. The retracted article will remain accessible for transparency but will be clearly marked as “Retracted.”

Publication Fees

To sustain the cost of high-quality open access publishing, PMHJ charges Article Processing Charges (APCs). These fees cover editorial management, peer review, digital hosting, archiving, indexing, and open access dissemination.

National Authors (Pakistan): Rs. 25,000 per article
International Authors: USD 150 per article

One complimentary printed copy of the relevant issue will be provided to the corresponding author. If additional printed copies are required, they may be ordered at Rs. 5,000 per copy (USD 60 for overseas authors). These charges are separate from the APC.

Privacy Statement

The personal information provided to PMHJ (such as names, emails, and institutional affiliations) is used exclusively for academic and publishing purposes. It will not be shared with third parties or used for commercial purposes. PMHJ complies with international data protection and privacy standards.

Journal Policies