About the Journal

About the Journal

 

Focus and Scope

The Revista Médica del IMSS adheres to the guidelines set forth in the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), last updated in April 2025.

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

• Editorials

• Original Contributions

• Opinion Articles

• Review Articles

• Letters to the Editor

• Clinical Cases

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

Articles involving human research must comply with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki (most recent revision in October 2024), the agreement issued by the Secretaría de Salud and published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on January 4, 2013 (NOM-012-SSA3-2012), or the guidelines of the Research Ethics Committee of the institution where the study was conducted. Animal experiments must comply with institutional regulations or with those of the National Research Council regarding the use and care of laboratory animals.

If the article derives from a registered research project, the author must state the approval number granted by the corresponding Research Ethics Committee or its institutional equivalent. The author must also comply with applicable legislation if the research was conducted in another country. A copy of the approval letter issued by the Research Ethics Committee must be attached.

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Editorial Policies

1. Originality and Exclusivity

• The IMSS Medical Journal accepts only unpublished manuscripts, written in Spanish or English.
• Once submitted, the manuscript must not be under consideration by any other journal, whether printed or electronic.
• No changes to the order of authorship, addition, or removal of authors are allowed after submission, as declared in the Authorship Acknowledgment form.

2. Editorial Process

• Each manuscript is registered and preliminarily assessed to ensure it meets the author guidelines and includes mandatory annexes (conflict of interest statement, authorship acknowledgment, and copyright transfer).
• If these requirements are met, the manuscript proceeds to peer review.
• The corresponding author is the sole contact point for all communication with the editorial team.
• Manuscript withdrawal requests must be formally submitted in writing to the editor.

3. Author Responsibilities

• The content, ideas, and citations in submitted articles are the sole responsibility of the authors.
• Any conflict of interest must be disclosed via a Conflict of Interest Declaration.
• Any funding or sponsorship must be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section.

4. Copyright and License

• Upon acceptance, authors transfer the economic rights of the article to the journal while retaining moral rights.
• The journal publishes articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
• Total or partial reproduction in other media requires prior written authorization from the editor.

5. Manuscript Submission Format

• Manuscripts must comply with the specified formatting requirements: Word format, Arial 12 pt, double-spaced, specific margins, etc.
• The submission must include the following components:
• Cover page with full author information and corresponding author contact details.
• Abstract in Spanish and English (structured or unstructured, depending on article type).
• Keywords (3–5) selected from MeSH and DeCS.
• Illustrations, appropriately numbered and formatted.
• References, formatted in Vancouver style and based on verifiable, public sources.

6. Mandatory Supporting Documents

Each submission must include the following documents in PDF format:

• Conflict of Interest Declaration (one per author).
• Authorship Acknowledgment Form, signed by all authors.
• Copyright Transfer Agreement, handwritten and signed by all authors.
• For case reports: Informed consent from the patient or legal guardian.

7. Accepted Article Types

Each article type has specific requirements regarding structure, length, abstract format, keywords, and number of references:

Article Type	Abstract	Max Length	References	Figures/Tables
Editorial	Free-form (100 words)	3 pages	Optional	Optional
Letter to the Editor	Free-form (100 words)	2 pages	Optional	Optional
Original Contribution	Structured (1500/1600 characters)	20 pages	25–30	Max 6
Review Article	Structured (1500/1600 characters)	25 pages	30–60	Max 6
Opinion Article	Free-form (1200 characters)	10 pages	10–15	Optional
Case Report	Structured (1500/1600 characters)	12 pages	15–25	Max 5
Others	Free-form (1500/1600 characters)	16 pages	20–25	Max 6

Note: The appropriate template for each article type must be used, available on the journal's website.

8. Ethical Guidelines

• The journal adheres to ethical standards in scientific publishing, including data privacy and patient confidentiality.
• Digital or inserted signatures are not accepted—all forms must be signed by hand.
• Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the submitted content.

9. Privacy Notice

• The IMSS Health Research Coordination is responsible for processing personal data collected through the IMSS Medical Journal website.
• The data is used exclusively for user registration, communication, statistics, and editorial tracking.
• The full privacy notice can be accessed at: https://www.imss.gob.mx/avisos-privacidad

 

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Peer Review Process

The Revista Médica del IMSS publishes original articles in Spanish and English. Previously published versions, articles in press, under review, or recycled texts are not accepted. Once submitted via the journal’s platform, the article is assigned an identification number and reviewed for compliance with author guidelines, inclusion of required documents (conflict of interest statement, authorship acknowledgment, and copyright transfer), and its contribution to knowledge in health sciences. Only then are reviewers assigned.

Once registered in the journal, it is not ethically acceptable to submit the manuscript to another publication (print or digital). Modifying the order of authors or adding/removing authors is also not allowed.

If the author wishes to withdraw the manuscript, a formal written notice must be sent to the editor via: revista.medica@imss.gob.mx

All manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review to ensure anonymity for both authors and reviewers. Reviewers complete an evaluation form previously validated by the editorial board according to the manuscript type. The review is confidential and may result in three possible decisions: acceptance, request for modifications, or rejection. If there are conflicting decisions, a third reviewer will be assigned for a final, non-appealable resolution. The editor is responsible for communicating the decision and any recommendations to the corresponding author.

If the article is accepted with modifications, the author has 20 business days to submit a revised version. Otherwise, the Revista Médica del IMSS reserves the right to publish or reject the article.

The average time between manuscript reception and publication is 8 to 10 months.

If the article is accepted for publication, the author retains intellectual rights over its content. However, the publication is considered the property of the journal through the signed copyright transfer agreement. Any full or partial reproduction in another medium requires prior authorization from the editor.

If the journal’s electronic platform is under maintenance, the review and editorial processes will continue via the official email: revista.medica@imss.gob.mx

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Open Access Policy

The Revista Médica del IMSS fully adheres to the principles of open science and the global movement for non-commercial open access, recognizing that scientific knowledge funded with public resources must be available freely, immediately, and without restrictions to all of society.

In line with the guidelines established by the Berlin Declaration (2003), the Bethesda Statement (2003), and the Manifesto on Science as a Global Public Good (2023), our journal adopts the Diamond Open Access model, which guarantees no fees for authors and free access for readers, thereby promoting the principles of non-exclusion and non-rivalry in the dissemination of knowledge.

Core Commitments

1. Universal Right to Knowledge
   The journal considers science to be a global public good. Accordingly, all publications are made immediately available in open access, with no economic or technical barriers for consultation, download, distribution, or reuse for non-commercial purposes.

2. Responsible Licensing
   Authors retain their copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). This license allows content to be shared for academic and non-commercial purposes, provided authorship is acknowledged and the work is not modified. The CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license is also recommended, in accordance with the Mexico Declaration, as an alternative to ensure the preservation of knowledge without commercial exploitation.

3. Recognition of Non-Commercial Channels
   We align with the recommendations of UNESCO (2021) and the Latin American Open Access movement, acknowledging that non-commercial scientific publishing channels must be recognized, evaluated, and supported by funding bodies, accreditation systems, and research institutions.

4. Inclusion, Equity, and Multilingualism
   Our editorial policy promotes bibliodiversity, multilingualism, gender and regional equity, and respect for traditional knowledge, in line with the epistemic diversity values established in UNESCO’s Open Science Recommendation.

5. Digital Preservation and Sustainability
   All content is stored in interoperable open access repositories that ensure the long-term preservation of scientific knowledge. This policy aligns with principles of sustainability, cooperation, and knowledge sovereignty.

Regional and Ethical Approach

The journal upholds the principles adopted in the Mexico Declaration (2017), reinforcing the Latin American commitment to non-commercial open access and supporting an ethical vision that prevents the commercial appropriation of scientific content funded with public resources. We reject models based on article processing charges (APCs/BPCs) or transformative agreements for profit.

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Anti-Plagiarism Policy

The Revista Médica del IMSS is firmly committed to scientific integrity and the originality of published content. Therefore:

1. Definition of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as the total or partial use of ideas, data, words, graphics, or structures from other sources without explicit acknowledgment of the original author.

2. Detection Tools

All manuscripts are subject to plagiarism screening using specialized tools. However, it is acknowledged that such tools, including those based on artificial intelligence, have limitations—especially in detecting paraphrased content generated by AI.

3. Author Responsibility

Authors must ensure that their work is original and that all external sources are properly cited. The use of textual fragments from other works requires quotation marks or appropriate paraphrasing with citation.

4. AI-Based Manipulation

The use of artificial intelligence to modify plagiarized text in order to bypass detection systems also constitutes plagiarism. Such practices will be considered a serious ethical violation.

5. Editorial Actions

If plagiarism is detected during the review process, the manuscript will be immediately rejected. If detected after publication, the article will be retracted. In both cases, the author's affiliated institution will be notified.

6. Review with Plagiarism Checker X

The Revista Médica del IMSS uses Plagiarism Checker X as a support tool to identify textual similarities and possible cases of plagiarism in submitted manuscripts. This software compares the submitted text with content available online, in academic databases, and other sources.

7. Acceptable Similarity Thresholds

• 0% to 15% total similarity: Considered acceptable. The manuscript proceeds without observations, except for isolated matches in common phrases or standard methodological expressions.
• 16% to 24% total similarity: Editorial review required. If similarities are concentrated in the introduction, discussion, or conclusions, authors will be asked for clarification or to rewrite affected sections. The manuscript may be returned for corrections before continuing the editorial process.
• 25% or more total similarity: Considered unacceptable. The manuscript will be rejected due to potential plagiarism, excessive self-plagiarism, or lack of originality. The editorial decision will be final, with no reconsideration unless documented evidence is provided by the authors.

8. Exclusions from Analysis

The following sections may produce similarities that will not be considered plagiarism if properly referenced or if they follow established scientific writing conventions:

• Statement of objectives, standardized methodology, or descriptions of validated instruments.
• Short textual quotes with appropriate references.
• Fragments of previously published articles by the same authors (self-plagiarism) that are properly attributed and do not exceed 10% of the total manuscript.

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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.

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