Journal profile · Medicine-Health Policy
Journal of Healthcare Quality Research
ISSN 2603-6479 · Elsevier
Journal of Healthcare Quality Research: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.2 (journal website); subscription journal; APC about USD 3,000; median 100 days to acceptance (93 articles, last 24 months); 64 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Healthcare Quality Research 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 Patient Safety and Medication Errors, Patient Satisfaction in Healthcare and Ethics and bioethics in healthcare, together about 25.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Healthcare Quality Research (JHQR) is the official Journal of the Spanish Society of Quality Healthcare (Sociedad Española de Calidad Asistencial, SECA) and is a tool for the dissemination of knowledge and considerations about the quality management of health services. JHQR publishes articles in Spanish and English associated with any aspect of research in the field of public health and health administration, including health education, epidemiology, medical statistics, health information, health economics, quality management, and health policies. The Journal publishes 6 issues, exclusively in electronic format. Articles are subjected to a rigorous, double-blind review process (peer review).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Health Policy
Editor-in-chief S. LorenzoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Spain 13, Finland 3, Mexico 1 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Patient Safety and Medication ErrorsHealth Professions10.7%
- Patient Satisfaction in HealthcareHealth Professions8.2%
- Ethics and bioethics in healthcareMedicine6.7%
- Medical Malpractice and Liability IssuesHealth Professions6.4%
- Healthcare Systems and TechnologyBusiness, Management and Accounting5.1%
- Healthcare Quality and ManagementHealth Professions4.3%
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions4%
- Stress and Burnout ResearchPsychology4%
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 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| 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
Indexing the journal's website claims
PubMedPublisher website
Other: Crossref
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 (publisher)
- 1.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.28LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.47LetPub ·
- h-index
- 17OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 46OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.95OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 8.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 3.91%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 48LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 622 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 47 | 12 | 10 |
| 2025 | 64 | 8 | 49 |
| 2024 | 58 | 3 | 102 |
| 2023 | 45 | 2 | 131 |
| 2022 | 76 | 24 | 210 |
| 2021 | 93 | 25 | 431 |
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
100 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 53 days – 146 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 55 days (93 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 146 days
- Sample
- 93 articles with submission and acceptance dates (134 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
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 34 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 105 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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,000 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,000 | — | — |
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)
Open calls for papers1, by deadline
Publisher websiteWhat to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Required
- Highlights
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
Article types accepted1
- other sections5. Other sections. The journal also includes the following sections: Opinion articles, special articles, review articles, book reviews, professional information…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (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.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration 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 competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors must disclose any interests in two places:…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (see more information on this). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles includ…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
Article Publishing Charge (APC): USD 2,000 (excluding taxes). The amount you pay may be reduced during submission if applicable.Review this journal’s open access policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review. Model summary
This journal operates a double anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor'…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing your preprints e.g. on a preprint server will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information).
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
- ISSN
- 2603-6479
- Society / sponsor
- Spanish Society of Quality Healthcare
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Healthcare Quality Research
What CAS zone is Journal of Healthcare Quality Research in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Healthcare Quality Research is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Health Care Sciences & Services. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Healthcare Quality Research?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.2; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 1.8, h-index 17.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Healthcare Quality Research?
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 100 days (interquartile range 53–146 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 Journal of Healthcare Quality Research?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Required; Highlights: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional. 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 Journal of Healthcare Quality Research based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Spain (13), Finland (3) and Mexico (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Healthcare Quality Research?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Healthcare Quality Research is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Healthcare Quality Research open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Healthcare Quality Research is a subscription journal. APC about USD 3,000.
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: .