Journal profile · Health Care Sciences & Services
International Journal for Quality in Health Care
ISSN 1353-4505 · eISSN 1464-3677 · Oxford University Press · ENGLAND · Bimonthly · Founded 1994
International Journal for Quality in Health Care: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.62; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,686; median 120 days to acceptance (118 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 140 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
International Journal for Quality in Health Care is published by Oxford University Press 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 Patient Safety and Medication Errors, Patient Satisfaction in Healthcare and Healthcare Quality and Management, together about 29% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions and Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The International Journal for Quality in Health Care makes activities and research related to quality and safety in health care available to a worldwide readership. The Journal publishes papers in all disciplines related to the quality and safety of health care, including health services research, health care evaluation, technology assessment, health economics, utilization review, cost containment, and nursing care research, as well as clinical research related to quality of care. This peer-reviewed journal is truly interdisciplinary and includes contributions from representatives of all health professions such as doctors, nurses, quality assurance professionals, managers, politicians, social workers, and therapists, as well as researchers from health-related backgrounds.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Health Care Sciences & Services
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Patient Safety and Medication ErrorsHealth Professions10%
- Patient Satisfaction in HealthcareHealth Professions9.7%
- Healthcare Quality and ManagementHealth Professions9.3%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions9.1%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.7%
- Health Policy Implementation ScienceHealth Professions4.7%
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.6%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.1%
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 4 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)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
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
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
- 2.62LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.68LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.09LetPub ·
- h-index
- 81LetPub ·
- h-index
- 146OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,985OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.82OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 44.03%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 84LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,838 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 159 | 63 | 24 |
| 2025 | 140 | 70 | 256 |
| 2024 | 125 | 86 | 492 |
| 2023 | 105 | 84 | 653 |
| 2022 | 107 | 98 | 653 |
| 2021 | 162 | 106 | 2,653 |
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
120 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 76 days – 196 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 12 days (32 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 135 days
- Sample
- 118 articles with submission and acceptance dates (321 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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
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 | GBP 2,795 | — | — |
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1994
- ISSN
- 1353-4505
- Electronic ISSN
- 1464-3677
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about International Journal for Quality in Health Care
What CAS zone is International Journal for Quality in Health Care in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, International Journal for Quality in Health Care 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 International Journal for Quality in Health Care?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.62; CiteScore 3.2, h-index 146.
How long does peer review take at International Journal for Quality in Health Care?
Based on the dates recorded on 118 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 120 days (interquartile range 76–196 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”. 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 International Journal for Quality in Health Care?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, International Journal for Quality in Health Care is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is International Journal for Quality in Health Care open access, and what is the APC?
International Journal for Quality in Health Care is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,686.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex; 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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .