About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The Revista Médica del IMSS adheres to the guidelines set forth in the document Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), latest update: April 2025. You may consult our editorial policies here.

The Revista Médica del IMSS is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal published bimonthly. It is dedicated to disseminating original and high-quality research in the fields of general medicine, public health, and epidemiology. The journal also welcomes submissions addressing humanistic, ethical, educational, and historical perspectives on health, recognizing their relevance to a comprehensive understanding of health and disease processes and their contribution to medical practice and professional training.

The journal publishes manuscripts in Spanish and English, promoting scientific exchange in both languages and enhancing the international visibility of academic work. Its mission is to serve as a platform for interdisciplinary dialogue and reflection among researchers, health professionals, educators, and policymakers, fostering the production of scientifically sound, socially relevant, and ethically responsible knowledge.

Submitted manuscripts must present original research findings, critical reviews, or theoretical reflections that make a meaningful contribution to the advancement of medical and health sciences. The journal particularly values studies that incorporate interprofessional or cross-disciplinary perspectives, as well as those that analyze social determinants of health, equity in healthcare access, innovations in medical education, and strategies for effective health system management.

To organize its contents, the journal classifies articles into the following sections:

  • Editorials

  • Original Contribution

  • Opinion Article

  • Review Article

  • Letter to the Editor

  • Clinical Cases

  • Others (Ethics, Education, History, and Philosophy of Medicine)

Manuscripts reporting research involving human participants must comply with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki (latest revision, October 2024), the guidelines issued by the Mexican Ministry of Health and published in the Official Journal of the Federation on January 4, 2013 (NOM-012-SSA3-2012), or the regulations of the institutional Research Ethics Committee where the study was conducted. Animal research must adhere to institutional regulations or to the National Research Council guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals.

If the manuscript derives from a registered research project, authors must indicate the approval number granted by the corresponding Ethics Committee or its institutional equivalent. Compliance with applicable national or international legislation is mandatory, and a copy of the official approval letter must be submitted with the manuscript.

The journal operates a double-blind peer-review process and applies evaluation criteria based on methodological rigor, scientific relevance, originality, and clarity of scholarly communication. It upholds the principles of transparency, editorial ethics, and open access without publication fees for authors or readers (diamond open access). Furthermore, it promotes the use of persistent digital identifiers (such as ORCID), adherence to international citation standards, and long-term digital preservation practices to ensure the accessibility, authenticity, and integrity of its published content.

 

Journal History

The Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social is a bimonthly publication of the Dirección de Prestaciones Médicas of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), first published in 1962 with the purpose of disseminating scientific knowledge generated by the Institute’s healthcare professionals.

Over more than six decades, the Journal has evolved from a locally distributed publication to a platform with national and international reach. Among its most important milestones are the editorial restructuring in 2003, which strengthened its scientific rigor, and its inclusion in MEDLINE in 2005, making it one of the few Mexican journals indexed in this prestigious international database.

From its inception, the Journal has adhered to a diamond open access model—free of charge for both authors and readers—in line with its commitment to democratizing access to health knowledge. Today, it is indexed in PubMed, LILACS, Latindex, Redalyc, PERIÓDICA-BIBLAT, and Google Scholar, among other resources, significantly expanding its global visibility and article citations.

In addition to being a medium for scientific dissemination, the Revista Médica del IMSS serves as a valuable educational and reference resource for students, professionals, and researchers in the health field. Its continuity, editorial quality, and openness have consolidated it as an institutional asset and a cornerstone of scientific production in health in Mexico.

 

Bibliography about Revista Médica del IMSS

 

  1. Méndez L. Nuestra Revista Médica. Rev Med IMSS. 1962;1(1):5.
  2. Romero-Romero E. Comité Editorial de Revista Médica del IMSS. Rev Med IMSS. 1994;32(1):1–2.
  3. Lifshitz GA. Bosquejo histórico de Revista Médica. Rev Med IMSS. 1994;32(6):595–8.
  4. Madrazo-Navarro M. Revista Médica, ¿un cambio indispensable? Rev Med IMSS. 1998;36(1):1–2.
  5. Espinosa-Larrañaga F, Juárez-Díaz González N, Lifshitz A. Revista Médica del IMSS en su proceso de cambio. Rev Med IMSS. 1999;37(6):421–3.
  6. Viniegra L. Revista Médica del IMSS, ¿continuidad o progresión? Rev Med IMSS. 2003;41(1):1–2. https://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/imss/im-2003/im031a.pdf
  7. Viniegra Velázquez L. Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social en índices internacionales. Rev Med IMSS. 2005;43(3):185–6. https://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/imss/im-2005/im053a.pdf
  8. Echevarría-Zuno S, Lavalle-Montalvo C, Vázquez-Camacho L, Monroy-Ramírez de Arellano L. Nuestra Revista Médica. 45 años de historia. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2007;45(6):533–5. https://www.medigraphic.com/pdfs/imss/im-2007/im076a.pdf
  9. Espinosa-Larrañaga F. La visión hacia el futuro de un nuevo editor. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2008;46(1):1–2. https://revistamedica.imss.gob.mx/index.php/revista_medica/article/view/2077
  10. Fajardo-Dolci G. Revista Médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social. Fortalezas y futuro. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2014;52(2):124–5. https://revistamedica.imss.gob.mx/index.php/revista_medica/article/view/694
  11. García-Gómez F, Ramírez-Méndez F. Análisis bibliométrico de la Revista Médica del IMSS en la base de datos Scopus durante el periodo 2005–2013. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2015;53(3):323–35. https://revistamedica.imss.gob.mx/index.php/revista_medica/article/view/37
  12. Álvarez I. Recomendaciones para mejorar la cadena de la comunicación científica en la Revista Médica del IMSS. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2016;54(1):4–7. https://revistamedica.imss.gob.mx/index.php/revista_medica/article/view/224
  13. Chávez-Martínez O, Nez-Hernández PI. La indización de la Revista Médica del IMSS. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2022;60(6):599. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10396049/
  14. Chávez-Martínez O. ¿Quién lee la Revista Médica del IMSS? Las métricas alternativas responden. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2023;61(4):399–402. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10484536/
  15. Chávez-Martínez O, Fajardo-Ortíz G, Moctezuma-Paz A. Revista Médica del IMSS: patrimonio institucional e importante referente formativo. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2023;61(6):713–716. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10712930/pdf/04435117-61-6-713.pdf
  16. Moctezuma-Paz A, Chávez-Martínez O, Fajardo-Ortiz G. Una nueva era para las revistas científicas del IMSS. Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc. 2025;63(4):e6168. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12279305/