About IJME

Overview

Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, published since 1993 by the Forum for Medical Ethics Society, is a multi-disciplinary academic journal providing a platform for publication of original material and discussion on all aspects of bioethics, healthcare ethics, and the humanities.

Aim and scope: Multi-disciplinary inquiry

The journal promotes multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural inquiry in the fields of health and healthcare by academics as well as activists from disciplines such as bio-medicine, public health, ethics, philosophy, social sciences, law, history, etc., and also creative expressions in art and literature. It strives to involve all cadres and beneficiaries of the healthcare system and strengthen the hands of those with ethical values and concern for the underprivileged.

Peer-reviewed and Indexed material

All material submitted for publication in the journal goes through a rigorous peer and editorial review by experts, and revisions when needed, before receiving approval for publication. In 2005, the US National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE/PubMed) decided to index all previous issues (starting from the first issue in 1993) and also started prospective indexing of IJME. In addition to PubMed, IJME is also indexed in a few other international databases, such as Scopus, The Philosophers Index (TPI), etc.

Periodicity

After peer and editorial review when a submission is approved for publication by the editor, it is considered for the earliest possible “Online First” publication. The Online First and other approved submissions are then published in the four quarterly issues of IJME every January, April, July, and October.

Print and pdf issue subscription system

In 1993, IJME was started on the classical print journal model, with no payment from authors, while readers accessed the print copy by paying a subscription. This system continues for access to copies of print issues and soft copies of full issues.

Open access online

All material published in IJME, since 1993, is available open access on the journal’s website (www.ijme.in). As a policy, authors are NOT required to pay any mandatory article processing charge (APC) or publication fee and readers are not charged for access to any material. However, we have a voluntary payment system for authors and readers.

Voluntary payment system for authors and readers

In order to sustain the journal financially, there is a system of voluntary payment by authors and readers, on the PayWhatYouWant (PWYW) model. Accordingly, authors and readers are requested to make payments of whatever amount they can afford (including no payment) for the publication of articles or for full-text views and PDF downloads of articles. Essentially, IJME does not allow any financial barrier to stop authors from publishing and readers from accessing public material but at the same time, encourages voluntary payment from those who can afford to pay.

Appeal for financial support

IJME does not have institutional support and funding and is run by a group of volunteers and a small part/full-time paid staff. It is also committed to maintaining editorial independence from the publisher and avoiding financial dependence on commercial sources that could create conflicts of interest. In addition, we are striving to keep IJME’s online content free and open-access.

Therefore, IJME needs support through donations, grants, and advertisements from individuals and non-profit foundations. Donations/grants are solicited only from Indian individuals and entities as Indian laws do not permit a journal to receive donations/grants from foreign sources. However, foreign as well as Indian readers/authors may wish to support the journal by voluntary payment of fees in different ways, such as:

  • By paying or gifting subscriptions of the print or soft PDF copies of the journal;
  • By paying a fee of any amount for full-text views or PDF downloads of any article from the IJME website
  • By paying article processing charges of any amount on publication, which is affordable to readers/authors
  • By placing advertisements in designated spaces on the website for a specified period and in print issues of the journal. However, we do not accept advertisements from the pharmaceutical/medical device, armament, alcohol, and tobacco industries. The advertisement rates and guidelines are available here

About the Publisher: Forum for Medical Ethics Society (FMES)

The FMES is a not-for-profit society of individuals interested in bioethics, healthcare ethics, and healthcare humanities. It is registered under the Societies Registration Act, of 1860 and the Bombay Public Trusts Act, of 1950. Donations are eligible for tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. More information on the FMES and its other activities is available here. For more details on how to support us, write to [email protected] or [email protected]