Instructions for Authors
Comprehensive guidelines for preparing and submitting your medical informatics research to JMID.
Your Roadmap to Publication
This guide covers everything you need to know to prepare a high-quality submission for the Journal of Medical Informatics and Decision Making. Following these instructions will expedite the review process.
Journal at a Glance
- ISSN: 2641-5526
- DOI Prefix: 10.14302/issn.2641-5526
- License: CC BY 4.0 (open access)
- Peer Review: Single-blind
- First Decision: 2-4 weeks from submission
- Publication: Within 2 weeks of APC payment
JMID publishes the following manuscript categories:
| Category | Word Limit | Abstract | Figures/Tables | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Research | 3,000-6,000 | 300 words (structured) | Up to 10 | Up to 50 |
| Review Article | 4,000-8,000 | 300 words (structured) | Up to 12 | Up to 100 |
| Technical Report | 2,000-4,000 | 200 words (unstructured) | Up to 8 | Up to 30 |
| Perspectives | 1,500-3,000 | 150 words (unstructured) | Up to 4 | Up to 25 |
Requests for Length Exceptions
The word limits above are intended to support clarity and an efficient peer-review process. If your manuscript exceeds these limits and reducing it would compromise the scientific meaning or completeness of the work, please contact the Editorial Office at [email protected] prior to submission to request guidance on a suitable exception.
Original research articles should follow this structured format:
- Title Page: Title, authors, affiliations, corresponding author contact, word count, keywords
- Abstract: Structured with Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions sections
- Introduction: Background, rationale, and objectives of the study
- Materials and Methods: Study design, data sources, algorithms, evaluation metrics
- Results: Findings presented with supporting data and visualizations
- Discussion: Interpretation, comparison with literature, clinical implications
- Conclusions: Key findings and impact on informatics practice
- Data/Code Availability: Statement on data sharing and code repositories
- References: Vancouver style formatting
JMID asks authors to follow established reporting guidelines appropriate to the study design. Clear, structured reporting improves reproducibility and helps reviewers evaluate validity.
- Clinical trials: Follow CONSORT and include trial registration details
- Systematic reviews: Follow PRISMA with a flow diagram and protocol statement
- Observational studies: Follow STROBE with clear inclusion/exclusion criteria
- Prediction models: Follow TRIPOD and report calibration and external validation
- Diagnostic accuracy: Follow STARD with reference standard details
For informatics and AI studies, report data provenance, preprocessing steps, model settings, evaluation metrics (AUROC, precision, recall, F1, calibration), and confidence intervals where applicable.
Text Formatting
- Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) format
- Double-spaced, 12-point font
- Continuous line numbering
- Standard margins (1 inch all sides)
- No embedded figures in text
Figure Requirements
- Minimum 300 DPI resolution
- TIFF, JPEG, or PNG formats
- Clear labels on system diagrams
- Algorithm flowcharts encouraged
- Screenshots with annotations where helpful
JMID strongly encourages transparency in computational research:
Code Availability
For studies involving custom software, machine learning models, or data pipelines, authors should deposit code in a public repository (GitHub, GitLab, Zenodo) and provide the URL in the manuscript.
Data Availability
Authors must include a Data Availability Statement. Where possible, share de-identified datasets via recognized repositories. For restricted data, describe access procedures.
Reproducibility Standards
For machine learning studies, include: dataset description, preprocessing steps, model architecture, hyperparameters, training/validation/test splits, and performance metrics with confidence intervals.
All medical informatics research must comply with ethical standards:
- IRB/Ethics Committee approval for studies involving patient data
- Informed consent documentation or waiver justification
- HIPAA compliance for US-based studies
- GDPR compliance for EU-based studies
- De-identification methods described for secondary data analysis
Every submission must include clear declarations that support transparency and research integrity:
- Author contributions: Provide CRediT roles for each author
- Funding: List grant numbers or state "no external funding"
- Conflicts of interest: Disclose financial and non-financial relationships
- Ethics approval and consent: Include IRB details or waiver justification
- Data/Code availability: Provide repository links or access procedures
- Use of AI tools: Disclose any AI-assisted writing, analysis, or figure generation
Supplementary files strengthen informatics manuscripts by enabling deeper technical review and reproducibility. Provide only materials that are essential for verifying methods or interpreting results.
- Algorithm pseudocode, model cards, and system architecture diagrams
- Extended tables, sensitivity analyses, or ablation studies
- Dataset dictionaries, variable definitions, or data collection instruments
- Implementation checklists or workflow maps for deployed systems
References should be numbered consecutively in the order they appear in the text:
- Journal Article: Smith AB, Jones CD. Clinical decision support for diabetes management. J Med Inform Decis Mak. 2025;12(3):245-250.
- Conference Paper: Lee M, Chen R. Deep learning for EHR analysis. Proceedings of AMIA 2024; 2024 Nov 9-13; San Francisco, CA. p. 156-162.
- Prepare: Format your manuscript according to these guidelines
- Register: Create an account on ManuscriptZone submission portal
- Upload: Submit your manuscript, figures, code links, and supplementary materials
- Review: Single-blind peer review by informatics specialists (2-4 weeks)
- Revise: Address reviewer feedback if revision is requested
- Accept: Pay the APC after your manuscript is accepted
- Publish: Your article goes live within 2 weeks of payment
Ready to Submit?
Your informatics research can transform healthcare delivery.
