Journal profile · Health Professions-Pharmacy
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
ISSN 2052-3211 · Springer Nature · United Kingdom
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.6 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,630; median 163 days to acceptance (104 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 38% (journal website); 149 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice is published by Springer Nature 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 Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy, Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes and Antibiotic Use and Resistance, together about 44.2% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (formerly known as Southern Med Review) is an Open Access peer-reviewed journal that provides a platform for researchers to disseminate empirical research findings with the aim that people everywhere have access to the medicines they need and be able to use them rationally. The journal encompasses all aspects of pharmacy, including clinical, social, administration, and economics. It also covers pharmaceutical aspects of healthcare policy, providing a platform to researchers, academics and practitioners from around the world to share evidence, concerns and perspectives on pharmacy systems, management, ethics, and financial analysis. Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice welcomes for consideration the following types of article: Research Article, Review, Discussion, Comment, Policy Analysis, Short Report, Study Protocol and Article Commentary. All articles received by the journal will be subject to double-anonymous peer review. Journal History In December 2008, Southern Med Review was started by Prof. Zaheer Babar to promote pharmaceutical policy research at a global level. The journal has been unique in publishing the work of new researchers, documenting the pharmaceutical situation of low- and middle-income countries and debating pertinent pharmaceutical policy questions. The journal's work has been recognized at a global level and, according to WHO, it fulfilled a global need. The journal is indexed in Scopus, EMBASE and PubMed Central and in 2013 was relaunched under its new title, Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice. Archival content An electronic archive of content under the journal's previous name Southern Med Review Volumes 2-5 (2009-2012) can be found on PubMed Central. About the Editor Professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar is a Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Practice at College of Pharmacy, Qatar University,and a Visiting Professor in the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom. He has held several senior academic leadership roles, including Professor of Medicines and Healthcare and Director of the Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice Research Centre at the University of Huddersfield (2017–2023), and Head of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Auckland, New Zealand (2007–2016). He is internationally recognised for his work in pharmaceutical policy and practice, particularly in the quality use of medicines, clinical pharmacy practice, equitable access to me
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Health Professions-Pharmacy
Editor-in-chief Zaheer-Ud-Din BabarPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 3%); most named United States 8, United Kingdom 7, New Zealand 5, Pakistan 5, Qatar 5 (60 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Pharmaceutical Economics and PolicyEconomics, Econometrics and Finance19.3%
- Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient OutcomesMedicine14.2%
- Antibiotic Use and ResistanceImmunology and Microbiology10.6%
- Pharmaceutical Quality and CounterfeitingMedicine10.4%
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of LifeEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.1%
- Medication Adherence and ComplianceMedicine5.3%
- Pharmaceutical studies and practicesMedicine3.2%
- Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug ReactionsPharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics3%
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 Policy & Services | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Health Policy & Services | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
PMCEmbaseCASCAB AbstractsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, Naver, OCLC, BFI List, CNKI, EBSCO Academic Search, EBSCO Discovery Service, Gale, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, National Library of New Zealand, OCLC WorldCat Discovery Service, ProQuest Central, ProQuest Health & Medical Collection, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Database, ProQuest Pharma Collection, ProQuest-Ex Libris Primo, ProQuest-Ex Libris Summon, Reaxys, SCImago, TD Net Discovery Service, UGC-CARE List (India), WHO's Essential Medicines Documentation Database
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) 2025
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.74LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.74Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.19LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.19Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 51OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 450OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.33OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 133LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 431,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,173 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 106 | 106 | 37 |
| 2025 | 149 | 149 | 538 |
| 2024 | 131 | 131 | 712 |
| 2023 | 186 | 186 | 1,863 |
| 2022 | 107 | 107 | 1,817 |
| 2021 | 115 | 115 | 2,503 |
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 Crossref · to
163 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 99 days – 260 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (104 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 193 days
- Sample
- 104 articles with submission and acceptance dates (291 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 14 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 38%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 5 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 42 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 25 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 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 2,630 / GBP 2,100 / EUR 2,520 / AUD 3,655 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,390 / EUR 1,990 / GBP 1,590 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 2,320 / USD 2,420 / GBP 1,935 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 1,090 | — | — |
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 accepted8
- article commentaryArticle CommentaryLength not stated
- commentCommentLength not stated
- discussionDiscussionLength not stated
- policy analysisPolicy AnalysisLength not stated
- research articleResearch ArticleLength not stated
- reviewReviewLength not stated
- short reportShort ReportLength not stated
- study protocolStudy ProtocolLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Open access journal Model summary
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice is an open access journal and only publishes open access articles. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership of your article Make an impact and reach new r…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-anonymous peer review Model summary
All articles received by the journal will be subject to double-anonymous peer review.
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
- Springer Nature
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2052-3211
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 19, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
What CAS zone is Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Health Policy & Services / Pharmacology & Pharmacy. 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 Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.6 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.4, h-index 51.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice?
Based on the dates recorded on 104 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 163 days (interquartile range 99–260 days); authors report an average review time of about 14 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 38%. 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 JCR quartile is Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 3 of Medicine.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice based?
Of the 60 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (8), United Kingdom (7) and New Zealand (5). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists PMC, Embase, CAS and CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,630.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .