Editorial and Publication Policies

Core Identity & Access Policies

Interdisciplinary Journal of Medical Research (IdJMR) Published by Therapy Plus Clinics (Private Limited), Pakistan

1. Journal Identity and Ownership

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Medical Research (IdJMR) is an international, peer-reviewed, fully open-access scholarly journal dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary knowledge at the intersection of clinical medicine, basic medical sciences, public health, rehabilitation sciences, allied health professions, biomedical engineering, health policy, and community-based health research. The journal welcomes original research articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, short communications, case reports with significant educational value, and invited editorials that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries and offer novel insights into human health and disease.

IdJMR is wholly owned, financed, managed, and published by Therapy Plus Clinics (Private Limited), a limited-liability company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) under registration number 0229437, dated 12 March 2023 2023, with its registered office at Therapy Plus Clinics Head Office, 17-C, Lane 3, Khayaban-e-Nishat, Phase VI, DHA, Karachi, Pakistan. The publishing arm operates under the trade name “Therapy Plus Medical Publishing” and uses the official email domain @therapyplus.com.pk for all journal-related correspondence. Therapy Plus Clinics provides full financial, technical, administrative, and infrastructural support to the journal, including hosting on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform, DOI registration through Crossref, digital preservation services, and indexing applications. Notwithstanding this ownership and funding structure, Therapy Plus Clinics guarantees complete editorial independence. No member of the company’s management, clinical staff, or board of directors may influence editorial decisions, reviewer selection, manuscript acceptance, rejection, or the order of publication. All editorial authority rests exclusively with the Editor-in-Chief and the independent Editorial Board.

The journal’s abbreviated title is IdJMR, and this abbreviation must be used in all bibliographic references, citations, and indexing databases. The official ISSN (online) is [to be inserted upon assignment], and the journal is committed to obtaining registration with the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) Centre and with the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan Journal Recognition System as soon as the minimum publication requirements are met. The journal is published continuously (rolling publication model) with articles released immediately upon final acceptance and typesetting, and all content is assigned a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) prefixed 10.62888/idjmr.

Therapy Plus Clinics, as the legal publisher, ensures long-term financial sustainability of the journal even in the absence of article processing charges revenue, thereby removing any commercial pressure on editorial decision-making. The company further commits to maintaining the journal’s open-access status in perpetuity and to transferring the journal to a non-profit academic entity or public trust should the company ever cease operations, ensuring uninterrupted free public access to the entire archive. This ownership and sustainability model is publicly disclosed to fulfil transparency requirements of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and other indexing bodies.

7. Article Processing Charges (APC) and Fee Policy

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Medical Research (IdJMR) is a fully open-access journal that makes all published content immediately and permanently free for everyone to read, download, and reuse. In order to cover the unavoidable costs of professional copyediting, typesetting, DOI registration, online hosting, long-term digital preservation, plagiarism screening, editorial management, and administrative support, the journal levies a transparent Article Processing Charge (APC) only after a manuscript has been peer-reviewed and formally accepted for publication. No fees of any kind are charged for manuscript submission, peer review, editorial assessment, colour figures, page excesses, supplementary files, or revisions. The APC is therefore the sole source of revenue for the journal and is never a consideration in editorial decision-making.

The standard APC for IdJMR is fixed at PKR 25,000 (Pakistani Rupees Twenty-Five Thousand only) or its equivalent in USD at the prevailing inter-bank exchange rate on the date of invoice (approximately USD 90–100 depending on the exchange rate). This amount is payable by the corresponding author, their institution, or their research funder within 14 days of acceptance. An official invoice bearing the registered company details of Therapy Plus Clinics (Private Limited) will be issued immediately after acceptance. Payment can be made via bank transfer, online payment gateway, or any other method indicated on the invoice. Upon receipt of payment, the article proceeds to production and is published online within 7–10 working days.

The journal maintains complete fee transparency in accordance with DOAJ and COPE requirements: no hidden charges, no submission fees, no fast-track fees, no extra charges for figures or tables, and no surcharges for length or supplementary material. The APC rate and policy are prominently displayed on the journal homepage, in the Author Guidelines, and in this policy document at all times.

8. Waiver Policy

IdJMR is strongly committed to equity in scholarly publishing and to ensuring that financial constraints do not prevent high-quality research from being published. Full or partial waivers of the APC are available on a case-by-case basis under the following conditions:

  • Authors whose primary affiliation is in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (as defined by the World Bank classification current at the time of submission) are automatically eligible for a 100 % waiver upon request.
  • Graduate students (MPhil/PhD) and early-career researchers (within three years of obtaining their terminal degree) without grant funding may apply for a full or 75 % waiver.
  • Authors from upper-middle-income or high-income countries who can demonstrate genuine financial hardship (e.g., lack of institutional or grant support) may be granted partial waivers of 50–75 %.
  • Special consideration is extended to research addressing neglected tropical diseases, public health emergencies, humanitarian crises, or disadvantaged populations in Pakistan and the Global South.

Waiver requests must be submitted in writing to editor@idjmr.com at the time of manuscript submission or immediately after acceptance, accompanied by a brief justification and supporting evidence where applicable. All waiver decisions are made confidentially by the Editor-in-Chief and are final. Waiver status has no influence whatsoever on editorial decisions, and reviewers remain blinded to financial information. Authors who receive a waiver remain entitled to exactly the same publication services and visibility as full-paying authors.

9. Ownership and Management Disclosure

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Medical Research (IdJMR) is wholly owned and published by Therapy Plus Clinics (Private Limited), a private limited company incorporated in Pakistan (SECP registration number 0229437, dated 12 March 2023). The registered office and principal place of business is 17-C, Lane 3, Khayaban-e-Nishat, Phase VI, DHA, Karachi, Pakistan. Therapy Plus Clinics operates multidisciplinary rehabilitation and medical centres and has established a dedicated publishing division under the name “Therapy Plus Medical Publishing” to support scholarly communication. While the publisher provides full financial backing, technical infrastructure, human resources, and legal responsibility for the journal, it guarantees complete and irrevocable editorial independence. No employee, director, shareholder, or clinician associated with Therapy Plus Clinics may intervene in the evaluation, acceptance, rejection, or scheduling of manuscripts. All editorial authority resides exclusively with the Editor-in-Chief and the international Editorial Board, whose members are appointed solely on academic merit and are protected by a written editorial independence charter.

10. Advertising and Sponsorship Policy

IdJMR maintains the highest ethical standards with regard to advertising and sponsorship and fully complies with COPE, WAME, ICMJE, and DOAJ guidelines. The journal may accept limited, clearly labelled, and non-intrusive advertisements or sponsorship announcements that are directly relevant to healthcare professionals, researchers, or academic institutions (e.g., conferences, workshops, medical equipment, laboratory services, or educational programmes). All advertisements and sponsored content are subject to prior approval by the Editor-in-Chief to ensure they are legal, truthful, decent, and compatible with medical ethics. Advertisements are never permitted to influence editorial decisions, manuscript handling, or peer review outcomes, and they are physically and visually separated from scholarly content. The journal does not accept advertising for tobacco, alcohol, gambling, unapproved pharmaceuticals, predatory conferences, or any product or service that could reasonably harm patients or the public. Sponsored supplements or special issues, if any, undergo the same rigorous peer review as regular articles, and sponsorship is disclosed prominently on every page. Revenue from advertising or sponsorship, if received in the future, will be managed exclusively by the publisher and will not be linked to editorial processes.

11. Editorial Independence Policy

Editorial independence is a foundational principle of IdJMR. The Editor-in-Chief has ultimate and unfettered authority over the journal content, including the selection of manuscripts for peer review, acceptance, rejection, and publication order. Neither Therapy Plus Clinics (Private Limited), its directors, shareholders, clinical staff, nor any external organisation may exert pressure or influence on editorial decisions. Acceptance decisions are based solely on scientific validity, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal’s scope. The publisher may not veto manuscripts, request the inclusion or exclusion of specific papers, or link publication decisions to payment of APCs or advertising revenue. This independence is safeguarded by a publicly available Editorial Independence Charter signed by the Publisher and the Editor-in-Chief and is reviewed annually. Any perceived or actual breach of editorial independence will be investigated immediately by an independent committee comprising senior editorial board members not employed by the publisher.

12. Peer Review Policy (Double-Blind)

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Medical Research (IdJMR) operates an exclusively double-blind peer review system in which the identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed from each other throughout the entire process. This model is adopted to maximise objectivity, minimise bias, and ensure that manuscripts are evaluated solely on their scientific merit, methodological rigour, and relevance to the journal’s interdisciplinary scope. Upon submission, the editorial office removes all identifying information (author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, and identifiable self-references) from the manuscript file before forwarding it to the handling editor and reviewers. Reviewers are similarly required to declare any potential conflict of interest and are not informed of the authors’ identities.

Every submitted manuscript first undergoes rapid initial screening by the editorial team for completeness, scope alignment, ethical compliance, and plagiarism (using Turnitin or iThenticate). Manuscripts passing this stage are assigned to a handling editor who selects at least two independent external reviewers with demonstrated expertise in the subject area. A third or fourth reviewer may be invited when opinions diverge or additional specialist input is required. Reviewers are given three weeks to return their reports, although reasonable extensions are granted upon request. All reviewers provide detailed, constructive comments to the authors together with a clear recommendation (Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, Reject & Resubmit, or Reject). The handling editor synthesises the reviews and makes a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief, who issues the final decision. Authors receive anonymised reviewer comments verbatim and are expected to address each point systematically in revisions.

13. Editorial Decision and Timelines

IdJMR is committed to efficient yet rigorous editorial handling. The journal publishes median timelines on its website and adheres to the following indicative schedule:

  • Initial screening and plagiarism check: within 3 working days
  • Assignment to handling editor and reviewer invitation: within 7 days of submission
  • First round of peer review: 3–4 weeks
  • First decision (including reject without review if appropriate): within 5–6 weeks of submission
  • Revision period for authors: 4 weeks for major revision, 2 weeks for minor revision
  • Final acceptance to online publication: 7–14 days after final files and APC payment/waiver approval

Continuous publication ensures that accepted articles appear online immediately upon completion of production, without waiting for issue closure.

Desk rejections are issued promptly when a manuscript clearly falls outside scope, lacks novelty, contains serious methodological flaws, or exhibits ethical concerns. Reasons for desk rejection are communicated transparently to authors.

14. Complaints and Appeals Policy

Authors, reviewers, or readers who believe that procedural errors, bias, or misconduct have occurred during the editorial process may lodge a formal complaint or appeal by writing to editor@idjmr.com. All complaints are acknowledged within 3 working days and handled confidentially by the Editor-in-Chief or, when the complaint involves the Editor-in-Chief, by a designated senior editorial board member with no prior involvement in the manuscript. Appeals against rejection decisions must be based on evidence of procedural irregularity or significant reviewer error; appeals merely disagreeing with the academic judgement of reviewers are not considered grounds for reopening a decision. Investigations follow COPE guidelines and are normally conclude within 4–6 weeks with a written outcome. Outcomes may include upholding the original decision, appointing new reviewers, or (in rare cases) overturning the decision.

15. Editorial Endogeny & Self-Publication Policy

To preserve objectivity and diversity of authorship, IdJMR strictly limits editorial endogeny. In any single calendar year or volume, no more than 5 % of published articles may be authored or co-authored by current members of the editorial team (Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors, Section Editors, Editorial Board, or Advisory Board). Submissions from editorial team members are handled by an independent editor from a different institution who has had no collaboration with the author(s) in the preceding five years. The submitting editor is fully recused from all discussion, reviewer selection, and decision-making. These manuscripts undergo the same double-blind review process and are subjected to heightened scrutiny to eliminate any perception of favouritism. Annual endogeny statistics are monitored quarterly and reported to the publisher; exceeding the 5 % threshold triggers immediate corrective measures, including temporary suspension of new submissions from editorial team members.

16. Authorship and Contributorship Policy

IdJMR follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations for authorship. Each person listed as an author must meet all four criteria: substantial contributions to conception/design, acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data; drafting or critically revising the work for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published; and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work. Individuals who do not meet these criteria but contributed substantially (e.g., statistical analysis, technical assistance, funding acquisition) should be acknowledged with their permission in the Acknowledgements section, preferably using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) statements. Changes to authorship after submission (addition, removal, or reordering) require written agreement from all originally listed authors and formalised through the journal’s Authorship Change Form. No authorship changes are permitted after acceptance. Disputes over authorship are paused until resolved by the authors’ institution; the journal does not arbitrate such conflicts.

17. Editorial Dignity at Work (Anti-Harassment) Policy

IdJMR and Therapy Plus Clinics are committed to providing a professional, respectful, and harassment-free environment for everyone involved in the journal’s activities. Bullying, intimidation, personal attacks, discriminatory language, threats, or any behaviour that undermines dignity—whether directed at authors, reviewers, editors, or staff—will not be tolerated in emails, review reports, correspondence, or any other interaction. A single substantiated incident is sufficient for the journal to terminate engagement with the individual concerned, reject current or future submissions, withdraw review invitations, or remove the person from editorial or reviewer databases. All parties are reminded that courteous, evidence-based criticism is welcome, but personal derogation is unacceptable. Reports of harassment are treated confidentially and investigated promptly by the Editor-in-Chief and publisher.

18. Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Medical Research (IdJMR) upholds the highest standards of publication ethics and follows the Core Practices and Guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan. All parties—authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher—are required to adhere to these principles. Research misconduct in any form (fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, image manipulation, duplicate/redundant publication, undeclared conflicts of interest, unethical human or animal research, or authorship violations) will trigger immediate investigation following COPE flowcharts. Confirmed misconduct may result in rejection, retraction, publication bans, and notification of authors’ institutions, funders, and regulatory bodies. The journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards predatory practices and fraudulent publications.

19. Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy

All authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any financial, personal, institutional, or intellectual relationships that could influence (or be perceived to influence) their work or judgement. Authors are required to complete and upload the ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form at submission and to include a clear “Competing Interests” statement in the manuscript (or explicitly state “The authors declare no competing interests”). Reviewers must decline invitations or immediately disclose conflicts when they recognise the manuscript or authors. Editors and the Editor-in-Chief recuse themselves completely from manuscripts where any potential or actual conflict exists. Therapy Plus Clinics, as publisher, confirms that commercial revenue (APCs, advertising, or sponsorships) never influences editorial decisions.

20. Data Sharing and Research Transparency Policy

IdJMR strongly supports open science and reproducibility. Authors of original research articles are required to include a Data Availability Statement indicating where supporting data, code, protocols, and materials can be accessed. Data should be deposited in recognised public repositories (e.g., Figshare, Zenodo, Dryad, OSF, or domain-specific repositories) and cited with a persistent identifier (DOI) whenever possible. When data cannot be shared publicly (e.g., because of patient confidentiality or legal restrictions), authors must state the reason and, where feasible, make data available upon reasonable request under appropriate data-use agreements. Statistical code and analytical scripts are encouraged to be shared. Clinical trials must be prospectively registered in an ICMJE- or WHO-approved registry before patient enrolment.

21. Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy

Authors may use generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar large-language models) only for improving language, grammar, readability, or translation of text originally written by humans. AI tools must never be used to generate scientific content, hypotheses, methods, results, discussion, or conclusions, nor to create or substantially alter figures, tables, or images unless the use of AI is the explicit subject of the research. AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. Any use of generative AI beyond basic editing must be transparently declared in a dedicated section headed “Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process” placed before the References. Reviewers and editors are strictly prohibited from uploading manuscripts or confidential material into generative AI tools.

22. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern Policy

IdJMR follows COPE retraction guidelines. Minor errors (typographical, labelling, or formatting issues that do not affect conclusions) are corrected via an online corrigendum linked to the original article. Major errors that affect interpretation or conclusions but were made in good faith are corrected via an erratum. Articles found to contain honest but substantial errors, unreliable data, plagiarism, image manipulation, unethical research, or duplicate publication will be retracted. Retractions are clearly labelled, remain permanently linked to the original article, and include the reason for retraction, and are issued only after thorough investigation. Expressions of Concern may be published when investigations are ongoing or evidence is inconclusive. All post-publication notices are submitted to Crossref, PubMed (if indexed), and other relevant databases.

23. Prior Publication and Simultaneous Submission Policy

Submission to IdJMR implies that the work has not been published previously (except as a preprint, thesis, or conference abstract) and is not under consideration elsewhere in any language. Posting on recognised preprint servers (e.g., medRxiv, bioRxiv, SSRN) is permitted and must be declared at submission. Simultaneous submission to multiple journals is considered serious misconduct and will result in immediate rejection and potential reporting to institutions. Conference abstracts, posters, or theses do not count as prior publication provided the submitted manuscript contains substantial new material and properly cites the earlier work.

24. Commentaries, Critiques, and Author Responses Policy

IdJMR welcomes scholarly commentary on published articles to foster scientific debate. Critiques, letters, or commentaries must be evidence-based, respectful, and focused on scientific issues. They undergo editorial screening and, if appropriate, peer review. Authors of the original article are invited to reply, and the critique and response are usually published simultaneously. Rejoinders are allowed only in exceptional circumstances. All correspondence articles receive DOIs and are fully citable. Personal attacks or unsubstantiated allegations are not permitted and will be rejected.

25. Privacy and Data Protection Policy

IdJMR is fully committed to protecting the personal data and privacy of all authors, reviewers, editors, and readers in accordance with international best practice and the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Pakistan Data Protection Bill (when enacted), and COPE guidelines. Personal information (names, email addresses, affiliations, ORCID iDs, review history, and correspondence) is collected solely for the purposes of managing submissions, peer review, publication, and legitimate scholarly communication. This data is stored securely on encrypted servers, accessible only to authorised editorial staff and the OJS system administrators. It is never sold, rented, or disclosed to third parties except when strictly required for publishing services (e.g., Crossref for DOI registration, PKP Preservation Network for archiving, or indexing databases after publication). Reviewer identities are kept permanently confidential under our double-blind policy. Authors may request access to, correction, or deletion of their personal data at any time by writing to editor@idjmr.com. Published metadata (author names, affiliations, ORCIDs, article titles, abstracts, and DOIs) necessarily become public, but corresponding author email addresses are only displayed with explicit consent.

26. Name and Pronoun Change Policy

IdJMR fully supports authors who wish to change their name and/or pronouns on previously published articles for any reason, including (but not limited to) marriage, divorce, religious conversion, or gender transition. Such requests are honoured promptly, confidentially, and without requiring justification or documentation. The journal will update the article HTML, PDF, metadata, and all indexing records (Crossref, Google Scholar, PubMed Central if applicable, etc.) while preserving the original DOI and citation integrity. No correction notice or version history will be published unless the author specifically requests it, thereby protecting privacy. Co-authors may be informed only if the requesting author gives permission. Requests should be sent to editor@idjmr.com with the previous name, new name/pronouns, and article DOI(s).

27. Request for Anonymity Policy

In exceptional circumstances where publication under the author’s real name could endanger personal safety, employment, or freedom (e.g., research on politically sensitive topics, whistleblowing, or work conducted under persecution), authors may request complete anonymity or publication under a pseudonym. Such requests must be made in writing to the Editor-in-Chief before or at submission and must include a clear justification. The Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with at least two senior editorial board members, will evaluate the request confidentially. If granted, the author’s true identity will be known only to the editorial office and will never be disclosed. The article will appear under the approved pseudonym or without named authorship, and a brief editorial note may explain the anonymity when appropriate. Anonymity does not exempt the work from rigorous peer review or ethical standards, and accountability will be maintained through secure internal records.

28. Jurisdictional Neutrality Policy

IdJMR serves a global scholarly community and remains strictly neutral on territorial disputes, border claims, sovereignty issues, and geopolitical conflicts. Institutional affiliations and country/region names are published exactly as supplied by authors for the sole purpose of accurate scholarly attribution. The journal does not endorse or reject any political position by displaying a particular geographic designation. Authors are responsible for using terminology consistent with their institution’s official policy. In cases where geographic references could be interpreted as politically inflammatory, editors may request clarification or the addition of a neutral footnote, or the use of internationally recognised formulations, but will never impose a political stance.

29. Historical Content Statement

Some articles in the IdJMR archive may reflect historical language, classifications, or medical practices that are now considered outdated, inaccurate, or offensive. Preserving the integrity of the scholarly record requires that original content remain unaltered. When such content is identified or reported, the journal will consider, on a case-by-case basis, adding a Publisher’s Note or Editorial Expression of Concern to provide contemporary context without censoring the historical text. Readers are invited to report concerns about potentially harmful legacy content to editor@idjmr.com.