Journal profile · Medicine, General & Internal
Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
ISSN 1557-2625 · eISSN 1558-7118 · American Board of Family Medicine · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 2006
Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.16; fully open access; no APC; median 103 days to acceptance (86 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 148 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine is published by American Board of Family Medicine 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 Primary Care and Health Outcomes, Healthcare Policy and Management and Chronic Disease Management Strategies, together about 37.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Published since 1988, the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine ( JABFM ) is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM). Believing that the public and scientific communities are best served by open access to information, JABFM makes its articles available free of charge and without registration at www.jabfm.org. JABFM is indexed by PubMed, Medline, Index Medicus, and other services.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine, General & Internal
Editor-in-chief Dean A. SeehusenPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Primary Care and Health OutcomesHealth Professions23.7%
- Healthcare Policy and ManagementEconomics, Econometrics and Finance9.1%
- Chronic Disease Management StrategiesMedicine4.9%
- Health Policy Implementation ScienceHealth Professions4.9%
- Healthcare cost, quality, practicesHealth Professions4.6%
- Diabetes Management and EducationMedicine4.1%
- Health and Medical Research ImpactsMedicine3.7%
- Diversity and Career in MedicineSocial Sciences3.5%
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 | Medicine, General & Internal | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Primary Health Care | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Primary Health Care | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medicine, General & Internal | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Medicine, General & Internal | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Primary Health Care | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedPublisher website
Other: Index Medicus
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
- 2.16LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.86LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.84LetPub ·
- h-index
- 73LetPub ·
- h-index
- 113OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,788OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.04OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 13%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 98.55%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 127LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,691 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 59 | 59 | 4 |
| 2025 | 148 | 148 | 211 |
| 2024 | 176 | 176 | 567 |
| 2023 | 155 | 155 | 1,147 |
| 2022 | 158 | 158 | 1,753 |
| 2021 | 217 | 217 | 3,427 |
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
103 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 78 days – 137 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 231 days (35 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 343 days
- Sample
- 86 articles with submission and acceptance dates (277 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 ·
- Peer review
- Double-anonymous peer review, at least 2 reviewersPublisher 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
Fully open accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Other fees
- No other fees
- Page charges
- No page charges
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 200–250 words
- Reference style
- AMA
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 2
- Cover letter
- Required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use
Machine learning tools such as ChatGPT cannot be listed as authors; use of such tools to generate drafts must be disclosed. Model summary
JABFM does not allow machine learning tools such as ChatGPT to be listed as authors.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship
Authorship criteria follow ICMJE Recommendations. Model summary
The JABFM adheres to the authorship criteria outlined in the ICMJE Recommendations.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest
Conflicts of interest must be disclosed upon submission. Model summary
JABFM adheres to policies that increase disclosure and transparency related to competing interests or conflicts of interest, including: ICMJE Recommendations.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Informed patient consent is required for case reports and research. Model summary
Patients and research participants must give full, informed consent to participate in research studies, case studies, and other projects leading to publication.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Copyright transfer to JABFM is required upon acceptance. Model summary
Upon acceptance, transfer of copyright to the JABFM is required of all authors of the manuscript.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access
NIH-funded publications must be submitted to PubMed Central. Model summary
The JABFM recognizes that as of April 7, 2008, all peer-reviewed publications reporting findings from studies funded by the NIH must be submitted to PubMed Central, the NIH's free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature in the United States.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review PEER REVIEW
Double blinding is preferred; title page must be submitted as a separate file. Model summary
Peer reviewers provide an invaluable service to the JABFM and the discipline of family medicine. Over 85% of manuscripts submitted to the JABFM receive external peer review. Reviewer identities are blinded from authors, and author identities are withheld from peer reviewers by requesting that title pages be submitted in a separate file and that authors remove, where feasible, information in the bo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Duplicate publication is not allowed; manuscripts must not be previously published or under consideration elsewhere. Model summary
Manuscripts are considered only if they have not been previously published in print or electronic format, and with the understanding that they are not under consideration elsewhere.
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
- American Board of Family Medicine
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 2006
- ISSN
- 1557-2625
- Electronic ISSN
- 1558-7118
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 39, Issue 1 (September 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
What CAS zone is Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Medicine, General & Internal / Primary Health Care. 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 the American Board of Family Medicine?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.16; CiteScore 4.3, h-index 113.
How long does peer review take at Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine?
Based on the dates recorded on 86 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 103 days (interquartile range 78–137 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 200–250 words; Reference style: AMA; Suggested reviewers: Required, 2; 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.
Which databases index Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE and PubMed; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine is a fully open-access journal. It charges no article processing charge.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .