Journal profile · HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES
Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
ISSN 1553-7250 · eISSN 1938-131X · Joint Commission Resources Inc.
Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,510; median 127 days to acceptance (95 articles, last 24 months); 112 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety is published by Joint Commission Resources Inc. 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 Patient Safety and Medication Errors, Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies and Human auditory perception and evaluation, together about 33.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Published monthly, The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety is a peer-reviewed publication dedicated to providing health professionals with the information they need to promote the quality and safety of health care.The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety invites original manuscripts on the development, adaptation, and/or implementation of innovative thinking, strategies, and practices in improving quality and safety in health care. Case studies, program or project reports, reports of new methodologies or new applications of methodologies, research studies on the effectiveness of improvement interventions, and commentaries on issues and practices are all considered.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES
Editor-in-chief Elizabeth MortPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 43, Canada 3, Netherlands 3 (49 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Patient Safety and Medication ErrorsHealth Professions17.3%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance10.1%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.9%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science5.9%
- Hospital Admissions and OutcomesMedicine5.8%
- Medical Malpractice and Liability IssuesHealth Professions4.4%
- Electronic Health Records SystemsHealth Professions4%
- Emergency and Acute Care StudiesMedicine4%
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 Care Sciences & 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 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
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)
- 3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.92LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.07LetPub ·
- h-index
- 88OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 946OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.01OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 22.27%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 71LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,565 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 115 | 44 | 7 |
| 2025 | 112 | 26 | 67 |
| 2024 | 149 | 52 | 305 |
| 2023 | 146 | 31 | 572 |
| 2022 | 120 | 36 | 670 |
| 2021 | 149 | 35 | 1,067 |
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
127 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 89 days – 178 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 4 days (95 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 134 days
- Sample
- 95 articles with submission and acceptance dates (226 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
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 60 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 162 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
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 3,510 / EUR 3,280 / GBP 2,810 / JPY 435,350 | — | — |
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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted12
- commentaryCommentaryLength not stated
- conference reportConference ReportLength not stated
- editorialEnsure that your submission follows the guidelines for the appropriate article type. If you are uncertain which is most appropriate, ask the editors to determin…Length not stated
- implementation briefImplementation BriefLength not stated
- improvement briefsImprovement BriefsLength not stated
- innovation reportsInnovation ReportsLength not stated
- letterEnsure that your submission follows the guidelines for the appropriate article type. If you are uncertain which is most appropriate, ask the editors to determin…Length not stated
- letters to the editorWe welcome correspondence on content published in the Journal or on other topics of interest to our readers. Letters are not peer reviewed, but the Journal may …Length not stated
- original articlesOriginal Articles report work on any topic or issue relevant to the improvement of quality and patient safety. The manuscript text should be organized into Intr…Length not stated
- research lettersResearch LettersLength not stated
- reviewsReviews on clinical topics or improvement methodologies provide an update on current understanding and improvement topics.Length not stated
- tool tutorialsTool TutorialsLength 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 in scientific writing
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 Authorship
All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following, as specified in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to be submitted, an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding received by the authors or family members.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data statement Model summary
To foster transparency, we encourage you to state the availability of your data in your submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright and Reuse
Authors will be asked to sign a transfer of copyright agreement, which recognizes the common interest that both journal and author(s) have in the protection of copyright. We accept that some authors (eg, government employees in some countries) are unable to transfer copyright. however, such policies do not provide anyone other than those authors the right to make in any form facsimile copies of th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Open access publishing Model summary
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double anonymized review Model summary
This journal uses double anonymized review, which means the identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the nam…
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
- Joint Commission Resources Inc.
- ISSN
- 1553-7250
- Electronic ISSN
- 1938-131X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
What CAS zone is Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Health Care Sciences & 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 Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.5, h-index 88.
How long does peer review take at Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety?
Based on the dates recorded on 95 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 127 days (interquartile range 89–178 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 Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety?
According to the journal's author guidelines: First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Cover letter: 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 Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety based?
Of the 49 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (43), Canada (3) and Netherlands (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety open access, and what is the APC?
Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,510.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .