Journal profile · HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES
Health Care Management Science
ISSN 1386-9620 · eISSN 1572-9389 · Springer Nature · 4 issues per year
Health Care Management Science: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.77; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,090; median 470 days to acceptance (93 articles, last 24 months); 45 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Health Care Management Science is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Healthcare Policy and Management, Healthcare Operations and Scheduling Optimization and Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life, together about 47.1% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Health Care Management Science publishes papers dealing with health care delivery, health care management, and health care policy. Papers should have a decision focus and make use of quantitative methods including management science, operations research, analytics, machine learning, and other emerging areas. Articles must clearly articulate the relevance and the realized or potential impact of the work. Applied research will be considered and is of particular interest if there is evidence that it was implemented or informed a decision-making process. Papers describing routine applications of known methods are discouraged. Authors are encouraged to disclose all data and analyses thereof, and to provide computational code when appropriate. Editorial statements for the individual departments are provided below. Health Care Analytics Departmental Editors: Margrét Bjarnadóttir, University of MarylandNan Kong, Purdue University With the explosion in computing power and available data, we have seen fast changes in the analytics applied in the healthcare space. The Health Care Analytics department welcomes papers applying a broad range of analytical approaches, including those rooted in machine learning, survival analysis, and complex event analysis, that allow healthcare professionals to find opportunities for improvement in health system management, patient engagement, spending, and diagnosis. We especially encourage papers that combine predictive and prescriptive analytics to improve decision making and health care outcomes. The contribution of papers can be across multiple dimensions including new methodology, novel modeling techniques and health care through real-world cohort studies. Papers that are methodologically focused need in addition to show practical relevance. Similarly papers that are application focused should clearly demonstrate improvements over the status quo and available approaches by applying rigorous analytics. Health Care Operations Management Departmental Editors: Nan Liu, Boston CollegePengyi Shi, Purdue University The department invites high-quality papers on the design, control, and analysis of operations at healthcare systems. We seek papers on classical operations management issues (such as scheduling, routing, queuing, transportation, patient flow, and quality) as well as non-traditional problems driven by everchanging healthcare practice. Empirical, experimental, and analytical (model based) methodologies are all welcome. Papers ma
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES
Editor-in-chief Nilay TanikPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 3 in mainland China (about 4%); most named United States 39, Canada 16, Türkiye 5, United Kingdom 4, Mainland China 3 (81 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance19.9%
- Healthcare Operations and Scheduling OptimizationHealth Professions18.3%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.8%
- Global Health Care IssuesHealth Professions6.3%
- Efficiency Analysis Using DEADecision Sciences6.1%
- Hospital Admissions and OutcomesMedicine5.2%
- Emergency and Acute Care StudiesMedicine3.5%
- Healthcare Systems and ReformsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance2.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEMEDLINEEconLitCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, RePEc
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
- 2.77LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.75LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.08LetPub ·
- h-index
- 86OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 699OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.34OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 14.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 48.57%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 43LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 245,800Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,056 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 47 | 30 | 13 |
| 2025 | 45 | 27 | 98 |
| 2024 | 33 | 20 | 182 |
| 2023 | 37 | 22 | 392 |
| 2022 | 39 | 22 | 420 |
| 2021 | 57 | 35 | 1,119 |
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
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
470 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 359 days – 613 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 46 days (93 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 532 days
- Sample
- 93 articles with submission and acceptance dates (98 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Submission to first decision
- 9 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
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
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 2,090 / EUR 2,990 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
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)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Highlights
- Required
Article types accepted7
- commentaryPlease note: The word counts given below do not include the abstract, references, figure legends or table captions. Original Research. Typically 5000 – 8000 wor…Length not stated
- editorialDouble-blind peer review Submitted papers are subjected to a blind review process. Each paper will be assigned to reviewers who will oversee the manuscript revi…Length not stated
- opinionPlease note: The word counts given below do not include the abstract, references, figure legends or table captions. Original Research. Typically 5000 – 8000 wor…Length not stated
- original researchPlease note: The word counts given below do not include the abstract, references, figure legends or table captions. Original Research. Typically 5000 – 8000 wor…Length not stated
- original research articlePlease note: The word counts given below do not include the abstract, references, figure legends or table captions. Original Research. Typically 5000 – 8000 wor…Length not stated
- reviewPlease note: The word counts given below do not include the abstract, references, figure legends or table captions. Original Research. Typically 5000 – 8000 wor…Length not stated
- review articlePlease note: The word counts given below do not include the abstract, references, figure legends or table captions. Original Research. Typically 5000 – 8000 wor…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
Abstract of 150 to 250 words required. Model summary
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data transparency: data, materials, software and code must support published claims; journals may have individual research data sharing policies. Model summary
All authors are requested to make sure that all data and materials as well as software application or custom code support their published claims and comply with field standards. Please note that journals may have individual policies on (sharing) research data in concordance with disciplinary norms and expectations.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
Articles using primary or secondary data must include a statement regarding ethics approval. Model summary
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Permission from copyright owners required for previously published material. Model summary
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Health Care Management Science, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Double-blind peer review
Authors may suggest or request exclusion of reviewers; suggested reviewers must be independent. Model summary
Submitted papers are subjected to a blind review process. Each paper will be assigned to reviewers who will oversee the manuscript review process. To faciliate this process, the remainder of the paper should contain no indication of the identity of the authors. This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. Authors are therefore requested to submit two version of their manuscript: The fu…
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
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 4 issues per year
- ISSN
- 1386-9620
- Electronic ISSN
- 1572-9389
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Health Care Management Science
What CAS zone is Health Care Management Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Health Care Management Science is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Health Policy & Services. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Health Care Management Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.77; CiteScore 4.3, h-index 86.
How long does peer review take at Health Care Management Science?
Based on the dates recorded on 93 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 470 days (interquartile range 359–613 days). 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Health Care Management Science?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Highlights: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Health Care Management Science based?
Of the 81 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 3 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (39), Canada (16) and Türkiye (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Health Care Management Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Health Care Management Science is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE, MEDLINE, EconLit and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Health Care Management Science open access, and what is the APC?
Health Care Management Science is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,090.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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: .