Intelligent Healthcare is a core journal of the “Intelligent Medical Journal Series”, a collection of leading interdisciplinary academic publications dedicated to advancing the synergy between Artificial Intelligence (AI), data science, and advanced technologies within healthcare. The mission of “Intelligent Medical Journal Series” is to serve as a vital platform for the timely dissemination of innovative, high-quality research that accelerates the translation of intelligent solutions from lab to clinical practice, ultimately enhancing healthcare efficiency, patient outcomes, and clinical decision-making.
Intelligent Healthcare welcomes submissions across fundamental, translational, and clinical research focusing on AI-enabled health-system research spanning prevention, hospital-to-home care, population health, policy analytics, digital equity, and smart hospital ecosystems.
Key areas of interest for submissions include:
● Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): Innovative algorithms, deep learning models, and predictive analytics for diagnosis, prognosis, and personalized treatment at a systemic level.
● Intelligent Systems and Robotics: Development and application of robotic systems, smart devices, and computer-assisted technologies for intelligent health systems.
● Big Data and Informatics: Data-driven approaches, secure data management, clinical decision support systems (CDSS), and health knowledge graphs for population and system health.
● Digital Health and Emerging Technologies: Integration of digital tools, wearable technology, augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR), and tele-health solutions within the broader healthcare system.
● Clinical Application and Translation: High-impact studies demonstrating the practical implementation, effectiveness, safety, and regulatory aspects of intelligent technologies in the overall healthcare system and policy.
We only accept original, unpublished manuscripts that have not been submitted simultaneously to other journals. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to this policy. As defined by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME http://www.wame.org/resources/publication-ethics-policies-for-medical-journals), plagiarism is the use of other’s published or unpublished ideas, words, or other intellectual property without attribution or permission. The intent and effect of plagiarism are to mislead the reader as to the contributions of the plagiarizer. This applies whether the material is taken from abstracts, research grants, or published or unpublished manuscripts. The editorial office uses plagiarism detection software, such as iThenticate, to screen all submissions. Any allegations of plagiarism are investigated in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines (see https://publicationethics.org/files/u7140/plagiarism%20A.pdf). If plagiarism is detected at any point, appropriate actions will be taken, which may include notifying the authors' institution and funding agencies, and potentially retracting the published paper. For additional information, please visit http://www.publicationethics.org.
All authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including financial, consulting, institutional, or other relationships that could lead to bias. If there are no conflicts of interest, this must be explicitly stated. All sources of funding must be acknowledged in the manuscript.
Disclosure Content: Please create a section titled "Conflicts of Interest and Funding" below the title page. For example: “Conflicts of Interest and Funding: Author A has received honoraria from Company Z. Author B is currently receiving a grant (#12345) from Organization Y and is on the speaker's bureau for Company A. The remaining authors
Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, sonograms, CT scans, etc., and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian, wherever applicable) gives informed consent for publication. Authors should remove patients' names from figures unless they have obtained informed consent from the patients. The journal abides by ICMJE guidelines: 1. Authors, not the journals nor the publisher, need to obtain the patient consent form before the publication and have the form properly archived. The consent forms are not to be uploaded with the cover letter or sent through email to editorial or publisher offices. 2. If the manuscript contains patient images that preclude anonymity, or a description that has obvious indication to the identity of the patient, a statement about obtaining informed patient consent should be indicated in the manuscript.
Data Availability Statement should include information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analyzed or generated during the study. Where research data are not publicly available, this must be stated in the manuscript along with any conditions for accessing the data. Data Availability Statements should take one of the following forms (or a combination of more than one if required for multiple types of research data):
● The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the [NAME] repository, [PERSISTENT WEB LINK TO DATASETS].
● The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due [REASON WHY DATA ARE NOT PUBLIC] but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
● The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
● Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.
● All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article [and its supplementary information files].
● The data that support the findings of this study are available from [third party name] but restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study, and so are not publicly available. Data are however available from the authors upon reasonable request and with permission of [third party name].
Manuscripts involving artificial intelligence or machine learning must clearly describe the data sources, model validation, and measures to prevent algorithmic bias, in accordance with relevant AI ethics guidelines.
Each person listed as an author must have made a substantial intellectual contribution to the intellectual content, data analysis, and/or writing of the manuscript and be able to take public responsibility for it. All authors must have reviewed and approved the final submitted manuscript.
Please list each author's specific contributions in a footnote. We recommend using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) standard, such as "Conceptualization," "Methodology," "Data Curation," "Writing – original draft," and "Supervision," to clearly define each author's role.
Manuscripts involving human subjects must be conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, and informed consent must be obtained. Animal experiments must comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and adhere to relevant local and international animal welfare regulations.
Ethics Approval: Authors must explicitly state in the manuscript that they have obtained approval from an Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) and provide the approval number.
“Intelligent Medical Journal Series” would publish clinical trials that have been registered with a clinical trial registry that allows free online access to public. Registration in the following trial registers is acceptable:
● http://isrctn.org/;
● http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/;
● https://www.chictr.org.cn/;
● http://www.ctri.nic.in/;
● https://www.anzctr.org.au/;
● http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/index.asp;
● http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr.
To ensure scientific rigor and transparency, we recommend that authors follow relevant reporting guidelines for their field.
Reporting Guidelines for Specific Study Designs
STROBE cohort(Observational studies: cohort studies): https://www.goodreports.org/reporting-checklists/strobe-cohort/
STROBE case-control(Observational studies: case-control studies): https://www.goodreports.org/reporting-checklists/strobe-case-control/
STROBE cross-sectiona(Observational studies: cross-sectional studies): https://www.goodreports.org/reporting-checklists/strobe-cross-sectional/
CONSORT(Randomized controlled trials): https://www.goodreports.org/reporting-checklists/consort/
SQUIRE(Quality improvement projects): https://www.goodreports.org/reporting-checklists/squire/
PRISMA(Systematic reviews and meta-analyses): https://www.goodreports.org/reporting-checklists/prisma/
STARD(Studies of diagnostic accuracy): https://www.goodreports.org/reporting-checklists/stard/
MOOSE(Meta-analyses of observational studies in epidemiology): https://legacyfileshare.elsevier.com/promis_misc/ISSM_MOOSE_Checklist.pdf
Note: The reporting guidelines for other type of studies can be found at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/.
We operate a single-blind review process where reviewers' identities are hidden from the authors, but authors' identities are known to the reviewers. This helps ensure reviewers provide candid, unbiased feedback.
● Initial Screening: The editorial office will initially screen all submissions to assess their originality, scientific rigor, and relevance to the journal. Manuscripts that do not meet the criteria will be rejected at this stage without undergoing formal peer review.
● Expert Review: Manuscripts that pass the initial screening will be sent to at least two independent experts for review. Reviewers will provide detailed feedback on the manuscript's scientific quality, analysis, novelty, and significance.
● Editorial Decision: The Editor-in-Chief will make a final decision (Accept, Minor Revisions, Major Revisions, or Reject) based on the reviewers' comments.
● Editorial Board Submissions: If a manuscript's author is an Editor-in-Chief or an Editorial Board member, the manuscript will be handled by an Assistant Editor or a Co-Editor-in-Chief. The authoring editor will be excluded from all publication decisions.
The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision on all manuscripts. This decision is based on the feedback from at least two expert reviewers. Possible decisions include:
● Accept: The manuscript is ready for publication.
● Minor Revisions: The manuscript can be accepted after minor changes are made.
● Major Revisions: The manuscript has potential but requires significant changes and will undergo a second round of review.
● Reject: The manuscript is not suitable for the journal.
All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
To sustain our open-access model, we charge an Article Processing Charge of USD 500 for each accepted manuscript. This single fee defrays the full cost of publication—from peer-review management and professional editing to typesetting, online hosting, and long-term digital preservation.
APC Waiver Policy: We offer the following waiver options to support researchers globally:
● For Low- and Middle-Income Countries: For submissions where the corresponding author is from a country classified by the World Bank or the United Nations as low- or middle-income, we may grant a full or partial APC waiver on a case-by-case basis.
● Based on Research Quality and Contribution: For exceptionally outstanding research that makes a significant contribution to the field, the editorial board reserves the right to offer a discretionary APC waiver.
● Special Circumstances: If an author is unable to pay the APC due to financial hardship, a written application with a detailed explanation and supporting documentation may be submitted to the editorial office for consideration. All waiver requests are treated confidentially and will not influence the editorial decision process.
These articles include Randomized Controlled Trials, Observational Studies, Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy, Systematic Reviews, and Meta-analyses.
● Word Count: The main text (excluding Abstract, references, and Tables) should be up to 8,000 words.
● Structure: Must be divided into sections with the headings: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion (optional), References, Tables, and Figure legends.
Report format please refer to Section 3.2(Reporting Guidelines for Specific Study Designs).
These articles are expected to be written by individuals who have done substantial work on the subject or are considered experts in the field. A short summary of the contributor(s)' work in the field of review must accompany the manuscript.
● Word Count: Up to 10,000 words (excluding tables, references, and abstract).
● Abstract: The abstract should be an accurate summary of the article, no more than 400 words.
○ A Systematic Review must have a structured Abstract.
○ Other reviews may use an unstructured/structured Abstract.
● Section Titles: Section titles will depend upon the topic reviewed.
● Post-Publication Update: The journal expects contributors to provide post-publication updates. The update should be brief, covering advances in the field after publication, and should be sent as a Letter to the Editor when a major development occurs.
New, interesting, and rare cases can be reported. They should be unique, describing a significant diagnostic or therapeutic challenge, and providing a learning point for the readers. Cases with clinical significance or implications will be given priority.
● Word Count & References: Up to 3,000 words (excluding references and abstract) and can be supported with up to 30 references.
● Reporting Guideline: For more details, please refer to the CARE Guideline (see CARE-checklist-English-2013.pdf)
Publishing study protocols helps to improve the standard of medical research. Study protocol articles can be for proposed or ongoing trials that have not completed patient recruitment at the time of submission. Please confirm the status of your study upon submission.
● Content: Protocols should provide a detailed account of the hypothesis, rationale, and methodology of the study.
● Randomized Controlled Trials: Protocols must follow the CONSORT guidelines and include a trial registration number as the last line of the abstract.
● Length: The article is about 4,000 words.
● Structured Abstract: Must include: Background, Methods/Design, Discussion, and Trial Registration (if the submitted manuscript is a clinical trial).
Communication provides an avenue for rapid publication of potentially important results and up-to-date information, without the detailed documentation that comes with a full-length research article. However, it still includes precise methods and robust results.
● Scope: Such articles may not cover 'standard research' but must be of general interest to the broad readership of Intelligent Medical Journal Series. They can also include cutting-edge methods or experiments, and the development of new technology or materials.
● Structure: The structure is similar to an Original Article.
A Research article, especially of the bench-to-bedside nature.
● Word Count: The text is about 1,500 words.
● Format: Without abstract and keywords, with or without figures/tables.
Correspondence is a letter to the editors. They should preferably be related to articles previously published in the journal or views expressed in the journal, or briefly report a case or research results.
● Word Count: The text is about 1,500 words.
● Format: Without abstract and keywords, with or without figures/tables.
● Patient Consent: Declaration of patient consent must be stated if the article contains patient information.
Letters should preferably be related to articles previously published in Intelligent Medical Journal Series or views expressed in the Journal.
● Response to a Letter: A Response must reference the original Letter in the first few paragraphs.
● Title: Letters can use an arbitrary title, but a Response must cite the title of the Letter: e.g., Response to [title of Letter].
● Editing: Submissions may be edited for length, grammatical correctness, and journal style. Authors will be asked to approve editorial changes that alter the substance or tone of the letter or response.
● Word Count & References: Up to 2,000 words and 15 references.
Editorial, Concept Article, Spotlight, Communication, Perspective, Mini-Review, Narrative Medicine, Commentary, and Opinion are solicited by the editorial board.
a. Title Page. See Templates and Checklist below.
b. Manuscript. A single word processing file, including title, authors, abstract, main text, references and figure legends.
c. Copyright Transfer Form. See Templates and Checklist below.
d. Covering Letter. See Templates and Checklist below.
e. Figure(s). Optional
f. Table(s). Optional
g. Formatting Checklist. See Templates and Checklist below.
h. Author Contribution Details. See Templates and Checklist below.
i. Reporting Guideline Checklists. Per article type, the corresponding Reporting Guideline Checklists(see 3.2 Reporting Guidelines for Specific Study Designs).
j. Supplemental Digital Content(Optional)
These ready to use templates are made to help the contributors write as per the requirements of the Journal. Save the templates on your computer and use them with a word processor program.
● Template for Title Page(see Template for Title Page.docx).
● Template for Copyright Transfer Form(see Template for Copyright Transfer Form.docx).
● Template for Covering Letter(see Template for Covering Letter.docx).
● Template for Formatting Checklist(see Template for Formatting Checklist.docx).
● Template for Author Contribution Details(see Template for Author Contribution Details.docx).
● Last name and given name provided along with Middle name initials (where applicable)
● Author for correspondence, with e-mail address provided
● Identity not revealed in paper except title page (e.g. name of the institute in Methods, citing previous study as 'our study', names on figure labels, name of institute in photographs, etc.)
● Medical and/or highest academic degrees (eg, MD, PhD)
● Each author should list an associated department, university, or organizational affiliation and its location, including city, state/province (if applicable), and country/region.
● For questions regarding authorship requirements, please consult the ICMJE Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical web page at http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html.
5.4 References
The journal uses American Medical Association (AMA) style. References should begin on a separate page and numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text, where they are designated by superscript numbers placed outside periods and commas, and inside colons and semicolons. Only published works and manuscripts that have been accepted for publication should be listed in the References. Manuscripts in preparation, unpublished observations, and personal communications should be referred to in parentheses in the text. Completed manuscripts submitted for publication may be cited as footnotes to the text. If these are subsequently accepted, the author may transfer them to the reference section in galley proof. No URLs are permitted within the text.
References Format. No more than six authors should be listed. If there are seven or more, only the first three followed by "et al." should be included. Titles of journal articles must be included, and abbreviation of journal names should conform to Index Medicus style.
For information on AMA style, please visit http://www.amamanualofstyle.com.
Two authors:
Ahmed KA, Xiang J. Mechanisms of cellular communication through intercellular protein transfer. J Cell Mol Med. 2011; 15(7): 1458-73.
More than seven authors:
Ali JM, Bolton EM, Bradley JA, et al. Allorecognition pathways in transplant rejection and tolerance. Transplantation 2013; 96(8): 681-8.
Organization as author:
CDC. Prevention of herpes zoster: recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). MMWR Recomm Rep 2008; 57(RR-5): 1-30.
Donation after Circulatory Death. British Transplant Society. Accessed August 1, 2013.
Photographs of tables are not acceptable. Type each table, double-spaced throughout (including column headings, footnotes, and data), on a separate page. Tables may be included as part of the Main Body file and placed after the References section. Number the tables in sequence in Arabic numerals and supply a concise, informative title for each one. Each column in the tables should carry a concise heading describing the data in the column. Use lowercase superscript letters to designate footnotes, and type the footnotes below the tables to which they refer. Tables are cited in the text in numerical order. Each table should be able to be understood without consulting the text.
Like text, tables should be prepared using a standard word-processing program and may be included within the main body text document or uploaded separately. Do not upload table files more than once (that is, in the main document and in separate files).
Acceptable document file types for tables include .DOC and .DOCX; do not submit PDF, XLS or XLSX type files.
Figures should be uploaded in the highest resolution available. Legends should be supplied for all figures. They are numbered to correspond with the figures and typed double-spaced on a separate page. Figure legends for any supplemental figures being submitted are to be provided separately; see section, Supplemental Digital Content (SDC).
Acceptable figure file formats
● Do not embed figures into the main body file
● All final digital figures for accepted manuscripts must be submitted in EPS, TIFF, JPG. PowerPoint PPT format is permitted when the image resolution is very high.
● Each figure must be uploaded as a separate file.
● Histology figures must be in color.
● Monochrome images (such as line graphs) should be prepared at a resolution of 1200 DPI.
● Halftones images (black/white or color) should be prepared at a resolution of 300 DPI.
● Combination halftones (images containing both pictures and text labeling) should be prepared at 600 DPI.
● Color images must be saved as "CMYK". Images saved as "RGB" are not ac ceptable for printing.
● Your manuscript may be returned to you for correction if the images are of insufficient quality.
● Artwork submitted to the Journal will be checked for quality. Authors submitting a revised paper will have the opportunity to check the quality of their images and make the necessary changes. This step is required for all revisions.
Authors may submit Supplemental Digital Content to supplement the information provided in the manuscript. It is preferable to include all significant figures and tables in the manuscript, since there is not a limit on the number of items in this online journal. Nonetheless, SDC may include the following types of content: text, tables, figures, references peripheral to information provided as SDC, audio, and video. SDC should be consecutively cited in the Main Body text of the submitted manuscript. SDC files will be available via URL(s) placed at the citation points within the article and are not copyedited by the publisher. Note that Journal policies for manuscript sub mission relating to peer review, patient anonymity, ethics, financial disclosure, copyright, and permissions also apply to SDC. Authors should mask patients’ eyes and remove patients’ names from supplemental digital content unless they obtain written consent from the patients and submit them as supplemental files at the time of the manuscript submission.
Format, File Type and Size Requirements: SDC must be provided in one Word or PowerPoint file. Each SDC in the file should have a visual header in the following name format (e.g., "SDC, Figure 1"; "SDC, Materials and Methods") and a corresponding citation must appear in the Main Body text. Note that SDC is numbered separately from non-SDC material. If providing SDC figure(s), a figure legend should be included on the figure itself. When uploading SDC select ‘‘Supplemental Digital Content’’ as the file designation. For audio and video files, also include the author’s name, videographer, participants, length (minutes), and size (MB). Video files should be formatted with a 320x240 pixel minimum screen size. For each submission, the SDC file cannot exceed a total size of 10 MB.
All manuscripts must be submitted online through the following:
https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ihospital
First time users will have to register at this site. Registration is free but mandatory. Registered authors can keep track of their articles after logging into the site using their username and password.
If you experience any problems, please Send an email to the dedicated Editorial Contact Email for your specific journal (see the "Editorial Contact Information" section).
The submitted manuscripts that are not as per the “Instructions for Authors" would be returned to the authors for technical correction, before they undergo editorial/ peer-review.
Online payment: https://journalpay.hep.com.cn/index
Bank Transfer / Wire Transfer is available only as a secondary payment option when other electronic methods are not feasible.
Should you need to pay the APCs via bank or wire transfer, please follow these steps:
● Contact the Editorial Office: Send an email to the dedicated Editorial Contact Email for your specific journal (see the "Editorial Contact Information" section).
● Request Account Details: Clearly state your intention to pay via bank/wire transfer and ask for the latest, updated bank account information and transfer instructions.
Important: Always confirm the bank details directly with the Editorial Office before initiating a transfer to prevent errors or fraud.
Experts with relevant interests who wish to apply to become a Special Issue Guest Editor are invited to review the enclosed document: Guidelines_for_special_issue.docx.
For all inquiries related to manuscript submission, peer review status, and editorial correspondence, please contact the dedicated Editorial Office:
editor@IHealthcareJournal.org
intelligentX@pub.hep.cn