Journal profile · Medicine-Health Policy
Health Policy OPEN
ISSN 2590-2296 · Elsevier · Netherlands
Health Policy OPEN: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.3 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 3,110; median 207 days to acceptance (48 articles, last 24 months); 24 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Health Policy OPEN is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 4 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Healthcare Systems and Reforms, Global Maternal and Child Health and Healthcare Policy and Management, together about 35.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Health Policy OPEN, the journal on health systems and policies, complements Health Policy and shares an objective to be a vehicle for the exploration and discussion of various aspects of health policy reforms, health systems analysis, and performance. Offering a truly global perspective, from low- to high-income countries, Health Policy OPEN covers universally important topics such as equity in coverage and access to healthcare; quality, safety, and responsiveness in healthcare; economic aspects of health policy change; and health systems? outcomes, including assessment of efficiency, improved health, financial and social protection, and sustainability.The journal is aimed at enhancing communication between health policy and system researchers, legislators, decision-makers, and professionals concerned with developing, implementing, and analyzing health policy, health systems and health care reforms.Areas of particular interest include:Measuring, visualizing, explaining, and assessing key concepts and issues surrounding health systems and policyPolicies and reforms promoting coverage, access, and equity in healthcareCurrent and future challenges of health systems, such as health workforce, universal coverage and funding, and sustainability of health systemsPreparedness and responses to shocks on health systems such as epidemics and pandemics, wars and conflicts, natural disasters, and socio-economic crisesAssessment of the performance of health systems, including quality, safety, and responsiveness in healthcare; efficiency, improved health, financial and social protectionFinancing global health policy and reforms, as well as the development of Sustainable Development Goal 3 and Universal Health Coverage
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Health Policy
Editor-in-chief Dan GreenbergPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Israel 5, India 4, Brazil 3, United States 2, Germany 2 (21 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Healthcare Systems and ReformsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance13.8%
- Global Maternal and Child HealthMedicine12%
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance9.8%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.9%
- Global Health Care IssuesHealth Professions8.3%
- Pharmaceutical Economics and PolicyEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6.4%
- Global Public Health Policies and EpidemiologyBusiness, Management and Accounting4.6%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Care Sciences & Services | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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 (publisher)
- 2.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.78LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- h-index
- 25OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 62OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.55OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 20LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 178 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 23 | 23 | 5 |
| 2025 | 24 | 24 | 69 |
| 2024 | 19 | 19 | 94 |
| 2023 | 25 | 25 | 192 |
| 2022 | 25 | 25 | 384 |
| 2021 | 37 | 37 | 473 |
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 PubMed · to
207 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 133 days – 337 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 3 days (48 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 218 days
- Sample
- 48 articles with submission and acceptance dates (64 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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 40 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 15 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 248 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 249 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 38 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double 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 | USD 3,110 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,740 / EUR 2,560 / GBP 2,190 / JPY 339,840 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,000 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,240 | — | — |
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,500 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Highlights
- Required
Article types accepted8, with length limits
- editorialHealth Policy OPEN will be accepting submissions in three different formats:(1) "Full-length articles" of around 4,000 words (excluding abstract and references …Length not stated
- full-length articles"Full-length articles" of around 4,000 words (excluding abstract and references and not more than 4,500 words), mainly empirical, analyzing the impact of health…Length not stated
- letterHealth Policy OPEN will be accepting submissions in three different formats:(1) "Full-length articles" of around 4,000 words (excluding abstract and references …Length not stated
- letter to the editorHealth Policy OPEN will be accepting submissions in three different formats:(1) "Full-length articles" of around 4,000 words (excluding abstract and references …Length not stated
- letters and repliesHealth Policy OPEN is interested in publishing debate among the readers in the form of letters and replies as well as commissioned articles and editorials.Length not stated
- protocolHealth Policy OPEN will be accepting submissions in three different formats:(1) "Full-length articles" of around 4,000 words (excluding abstract and references …Length not stated
- reviewHealth Policy OPEN will be accepting submissions in three different formats:(1) "Full-length articles" of around 4,000 words (excluding abstract and references …main text ≤ 6,000 words
- systematic reviewHealth Policy OPEN will be accepting submissions in three different formats:(1) "Full-length articles" of around 4,000 words (excluding abstract and references …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data statement encouraged Model summary
To foster transparency, you are encouraged to state the availability of any data at submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of one reviewer for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Rea…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
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
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2590-2296
- Society / sponsor
- European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies
- 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 Health Policy OPEN
What CAS zone is Health Policy OPEN in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Health Policy OPEN is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Health Care Sciences & Services / 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 Policy OPEN?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.3; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 5.1, h-index 25.
How long does peer review take at Health Policy OPEN?
Based on the dates recorded on 48 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 207 days (interquartile range 133–337 days); authors report an average review time of about 40 weeks. 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 Policy OPEN?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,500 words; 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 Policy OPEN based?
Of the 21 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Israel (5), India (4) and Brazil (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Health Policy OPEN?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Health Policy OPEN is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Health Policy OPEN open access, and what is the APC?
Health Policy OPEN is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,110.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .