Peer review

Clinical Medicine and Health Research uses double-blind peer review: authors and reviewers do not know each other's identities. Every research article is reviewed by at least 2 independent experts.

1. Editorial screening (target 7 days): scope, quality, completeness, ethics statements and a similarity check. Manuscripts outside the scope or below the journal's standards are declined without review.
2. Handling editor: an editor with relevant expertise and no conflict of interest is assigned.
3. Peer review (target 21 days): reviewers are independent of the authors (no shared institution or co-authorship in the last 3 years). Suggestions from authors may be considered but are never the only reviewers.
4. Decision: accept, minor revision, major revision or reject, with the reviewers' reports. The Editor-in-Chief or a senior editor takes the final decision.
5. Revision: authors respond point by point; revised manuscripts are usually returned to the same reviewers.

Reviewers receive a certificate of reviewing and are thanked in the journal's annual reviewer acknowledgement.