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Peer Review Process

Peer Review Process and Timeline

Given the essence of advancing and disseminating knowledge through impactful research articles in the fields of medical sciences and alternative medicine, we have established a meticulous peer review process to maintain the highest standard of quality, originality, ethics and relevance of the work we publish. The involved steps of the review process (as shown in the flow figure) include:


  1. Submission:
    Authors submit the manuscript and relevant files via the online submission system of the journal website.
  2. Initial editorial review:
    Submitted manuscript and relevant files undergo initial screening by the editors to ensure they align with the journal's aims and scope, standards, style, format, and originality. The manuscript must include all necessary sections and be presented clearly and concisely, adhering to the . Incomplete manuscripts will not be considered and will be returned to authors whereas complete manuscripts will be proceeded for peer review. This first decision is communicated through the online submission system within 7 calendar days.
  3. Peer review:
    The Editor-in-Chief, associate editors or assistant editors appoint three reviewers from different institutions than that of the authors to evaluate the manuscript through a double-blind review process. This process usually takes about 30 calendar days. The review process can result in four possible outcomes:
    • Acceptance: A paper is accepted as the original draft.
    • Minor revisions: The editor asks the authors to make some minor changes to the manuscript prior to reconsidering acceptance. The editor may send the revised manuscript to the reviewers for re-review.
    • Major revisions: The editor asks the authors to make some major changes to the manuscript. The editor usually sends the revised manuscript to the reviewers for re-review.
    • Rejection: The editor rejects the manuscript based on the reviewers' and editors' comments and feedback.
  4. Revision:
    If the decision on manuscript is minor or major revisions, authors need to revise it based on the reviewers' and/or editors' recommendations. The revised manuscript, along with necessary documents, should be submitted with clear indications of the changes made and an author response file indicating whether authors agree or disagree with the recommendations and explaining relevant reasons. The journal reserves the right to reject the manuscript or require more rounds of revision and review if the authors fail to address the recommended revisions adequately. Authors receiving revision requests have around 30 calendar days to resubmit the revised manuscript. The manuscript which authors fail to communicate with the journal for at least 180 calendar days will be rejected.
  5. Final decision:
    The Editor-in-Chief assesses whether revisions adequately address concerns. If both the editor and reviewers are satisfied, the manuscript will be accepted and proceeded to the next steps. The acceptance of the manuscript will be communicated with authors via the journal online submission system.
  6. Language and copy editing & Artwork:
    Language and copy editing and artwork will be done by the journal in about 14 calendar days. Authors may complete the necessary formalities for publication.
  7. Proofreading & Final correction:
    Authors receive the proofread version and have 7 calendar days to review and submit the corrected version to the journal.
  8. Publication:
    Following the authors' submission of the final proofread version, the final iteration is published on the journal's website within the last month of each pre-specified issue (April, August, and December). The final published version adheres to international formatting guidelines.