Journal profile · Medical Ethics
Journal of Medical Ethics
ISSN 0306-6800 · eISSN 1473-4257 · BMJ Publishing Group · ENGLAND · Monthly · Founded 1975
Journal of Medical Ethics: CAS Zone 2 · Philosophy (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 4.22; hybrid open access; median 77 days to acceptance (94 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 231 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Medical Ethics is published by BMJ Publishing Group and is in Zone 2 of Philosophy in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ethics in medical practice, Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare and Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues, together about 42.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Medical Ethics (JME) features articles on ethical aspects of health care relevant to health care professionals, members of clinical ethics committees, medical ethics professionals, researchers and bioscientists, policy makers and patients. It also publishes an associated forum.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medical Ethics
Editor-in-chief Brian D. EarpPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ethics in medical practiceHealth Professions20.2%
- Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric HealthcareMedicine13.6%
- Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesMedicine8.3%
- Ethics in Clinical ResearchMedicine7.4%
- Reproductive Health and TechnologiesMedicine4.6%
- Biomedical Ethics and RegulationMedicine4.2%
- Patient Dignity and PrivacyMedicine4.2%
- Organ Donation and TransplantationMedicine3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Philosophy Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Philosophy Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Philosophy | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Ethics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Medical Ethics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Issues | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Biomedical | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview 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
- 4.22LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 4.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.95LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.33LetPub ·
- h-index
- 65LetPub ·
- h-index
- 131OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 3,605OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.15OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 18.2%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 31.1%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 105LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 8,145 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 115 | 29 | 83 |
| 2025 | 231 | 68 | 647 |
| 2024 | 214 | 104 | 1,032 |
| 2023 | 286 | 127 | 2,454 |
| 2022 | 202 | 86 | 1,863 |
| 2021 | 305 | 142 | 5,710 |
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
77 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 42 days – 168 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 212 days (94 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 326 days
- Sample
- 94 articles with submission and acceptance dates (545 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)
- 4–8 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 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.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
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)
Article types accepted3
- feature articlesThe Journal of Medical Ethics accepts submissions of a wide range of article types, including original research, reviews and feature articles.Length not stated
- original researchThe Journal of Medical Ethics accepts submissions of a wide range of article types, including original research, reviews and feature articles.Length not stated
- reviewsThe Journal of Medical Ethics accepts submissions of a wide range of article types, including original research, reviews and feature articles.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship
- Authorship
Editorial policies and open access information are provided in the Author Information section. Model summary
Information is also provided on editorial policies and open access.
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
- BMJ Publishing Group
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1975
- ISSN
- 0306-6800
- Electronic ISSN
- 1473-4257
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Medical Ethics
What CAS zone is Journal of Medical Ethics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Medical Ethics is in Zone 2 of Philosophy, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Medical Ethics / Ethics / Social Issues / Social Sciences, Biomedical. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Philosophy. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Medical Ethics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.22; CiteScore 6.9, h-index 131.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Medical Ethics?
Based on the dates recorded on 94 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 77 days (interquartile range 42–168 days); authors report an average review time of 4–8 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “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 Journal of Medical Ethics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Medical Ethics is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of Medical Ethics open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Medical Ethics is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
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: .