Journal profile · Medicine, General & Internal
Canadian Medical Association Journal
ISSN 0820-3946 · eISSN 1488-2329 · Canadian Medical Association · CANADA · Semimonthly · Founded 1985
Canadian Medical Association Journal: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 8.35; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review 4–8 weeks (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 426 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Canadian Medical Association Journal is published by Canadian Medical Association and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Primary Care and Health Outcomes, Healthcare Policy and Management and Global Health Workforce Issues, together about 27.9% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) aims to foster excellence in the science and art of medicine and promote the health and well-being of the Canadian public. As a general medical journal, CMAJ publishes on a wide variety of topics including, but not limited to: Cardiovascular health, diabetes, stroke and other chronic diseases Obstetrical, pediatric and geriatric health Primary care research Public health and preventive care Health systems research Randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine, General & Internal
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions12.8%
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.3%
- Global Health Workforce IssuesHealth Professions6.8%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.6%
- Health and Medical Research ImpactsMedicine5.6%
- Pharmaceutical industry and healthcarePharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics5%
- Global Public Health Policies and EpidemiologyBusiness, Management and Accounting4.6%
- Health and Conflict StudiesHealth Professions4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Medicine, General & Internal | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Medicine, General & Internal | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Medicine, General & Internal | Zone 1 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PubMedPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 8.35LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.9LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.79LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.38LetPub ·
- h-index
- 168LetPub ·
- h-index
- 232OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,487OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.6OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 66LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 15,681 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 364 | 364 | 74 |
| 2025 | 426 | 426 | 509 |
| 2024 | 426 | 426 | 1,365 |
| 2023 | 501 | 501 | 3,256 |
| 2022 | 526 | 526 | 3,977 |
| 2021 | 603 | 603 | 7,059 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 23 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | CAD 3,500 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | CAD 3,500 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted8
- analysesWe publish original research, reviews, analyses, practice articles, guidelines, commentaries, letters and editorials.Length not stated
- commentariesWe publish original research, reviews, analyses, practice articles, guidelines, commentaries, letters and editorials.Length not stated
- editorialsWe publish original research, reviews, analyses, practice articles, guidelines, commentaries, letters and editorials.Length not stated
- guidelinesWe publish original research, reviews, analyses, practice articles, guidelines, commentaries, letters and editorials.Length not stated
- lettersWe publish original research, reviews, analyses, practice articles, guidelines, commentaries, letters and editorials.Length not stated
- original researchWe publish original research, reviews, analyses, practice articles, guidelines, commentaries, letters and editorials.Length not stated
- practice articlesWe publish original research, reviews, analyses, practice articles, guidelines, commentaries, letters and editorials.Length not stated
- reviewsWe publish original research, reviews, analyses, practice articles, guidelines, commentaries, letters and editorials.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Peer review, Self-archiving
- Publication ethics
Founding member of ICMJE; exemplifies highest ethical and operational standards Model summary
As a founding member of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), we seek to exemplify the highest ethical and operational standards in medical journal publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
cmaj.ca is the journal of record as used by PubMed and other indexers Model summary
Accepted articles are published at cmaj.ca, which is the journal of record as used by PubMed and other indexers.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Press release and media embargo
CMAJ issues press releases for many research articles and some other content before online publication. We will inform you if your article is to be featured in a press release. Contact information is included in the release for either the corresponding author or the author's media relations person. Authors are encouraged to make themselves available for media interviews. If contacted, they should …
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Canadian Medical Association
- Country or region
- CANADA
- Language
- Multi-Language
- Frequency
- Semimonthly
- Founded
- 1985
- ISSN
- 0820-3946
- Electronic ISSN
- 1488-2329
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Canadian Medical Association Journal
What CAS zone is Canadian Medical Association Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Canadian Medical Association Journal is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Medicine, General & Internal; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Canadian Medical Association Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 8.35; CiteScore 3.9, h-index 232.
How long does peer review take at Canadian Medical Association Journal?
Authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Which databases index Canadian Medical Association Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Canadian Medical Association Journal is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Canadian Medical Association Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Canadian Medical Association Journal is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .