Journal profile · Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
ISSN 1544-3191 · eISSN 1544-3450 · American Pharmacists Association · UNITED STATES · Bimonthly · Founded 2003
Journal of the American Pharmacists Association: CAS Zone 4 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.33; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,230; median 101 days to acceptance (107 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 609 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of the American Pharmacists Association is published by American Pharmacists Association 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 Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes, Medication Adherence and Compliance and Opioid Use Disorder Treatment, together about 49.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The mission of the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA) is to connect science and practice by publishing high-quality empirical studies, reviews on important healthcare topics, and thoughtful opinion pieces with the ultimate goal of optimizing medication use to improve patient and population health outcomes. We seek submissions that address efforts to advance pharmacy practice in any setting where a pharmacist may practice, optimize medication use, improve pharmacotherapy, and promote public health across the globe. Below is a non-exhaustive list of topics that are of potential interest to JAPhA:• Development and evaluation of innovative pharmacy services or models of care• Medication use studies• Interventions to improve medication use• Pharmacotherapeutic advances (especially as reviews)• Health outcomes research• Pharmacoepidemiology• Pharmacoeconomics• Health services research• Evaluations of drug benefit designs • Development and evaluation of healthcare policy • Implementation science• Patient reported outcomes and patient preferences• Education of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, including continuing professional development• Issues affecting pharmacy as a profession (workforce issues, well-being, reimbursement, etc.)• Development and application of new technologies in healthcare• Development of research methods with applicability to pharmacy practice• Advocacy, legal, and regulatory issues related to pharmacy or healthcare.Submissions describing pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic studies without a direct link to applications in practice, animal models, or in vitro or in silico drug studies will not be considered. Although JAPhA will consider educational scholarship, submissions limited to the professional pharmacy curriculum are not generally considered unless there is a clear link to pharmacy practice. These guidelines serve to maintain and improve the quality of JAPhA. Questions regarding these guidelines or inquiries can be directed to the JAPhA Managing Editor, Mickie Cathers, at mcathers@aphanet.org.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Editor-in-chief Pamela HeatonPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 39, Canada 3, Jordan 1 (43 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient OutcomesMedicine29.5%
- Medication Adherence and ComplianceMedicine15.2%
- Opioid Use Disorder TreatmentMedicine4.8%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.7%
- Pharmaceutical studies and practicesMedicine3.5%
- Vaccine Coverage and HesitancySocial Sciences3.2%
- Antibiotic Use and ResistanceImmunology and Microbiology3.2%
- HIV, Drug Use, Sexual RiskMedicine2.6%
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 | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Pharmacology & Pharmacy | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
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
- 2.33LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.81LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.86LetPub ·
- h-index
- 58LetPub ·
- h-index
- 83OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,375OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.75OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 12.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 8.27%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 175LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,290 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 498 | 51 | 39 |
| 2025 | 609 | 89 | 220 |
| 2024 | 290 | 130 | 787 |
| 2023 | 257 | 80 | 1,655 |
| 2022 | 307 | 129 | 2,684 |
| 2021 | 345 | 112 | 3,025 |
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
101 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 77 days – 147 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 7 days (107 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 113 days
- Sample
- 107 articles with submission and acceptance dates (487 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)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 56 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 99 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Open 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
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 3,230 / EUR 3,020 / GBP 2,590 / JPY 400,620 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,560 | — | — |
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
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Reference style
- AMA
Article types accepted12, with length limits
- advances in pharmacy practiceAdvances in Pharmacy Practice Innovations or other related advances in pharmacy practice.Length not stated
- brief reportConcise but complete accounts of preliminary or focused original research or practice advances. Compared to "full" Research articles, a Brief Report is narrower…main text ≤ 2,500 words
- brief reportsBrief Reports Concise but complete accounts of preliminary or focused original research or practice advances.Length not stated
- case reportOriginal, detailed reports of an individual or small number of patients, typically related to an adverse event. Case reports must include a description of the c…Length not stated
- case reportsCase Reports Original, detailed reports of an individual or small number of patients, typically related to an adverse event.Length not stated
- commentaryInformed (supported by referenced citations) personal opinions about events, trends, and/or developments in pharmacy or health care. The inclusion of new data s…Length not stated
- dose of inspirationDose of InspirationLength not stated
- letterForum for readers to clarify, critique, challenge, or expand on material recently published in JAPhA. Letters must be received within 3 months of publication of…Length not stated
- lettersLettersLength not stated
- researchResearch Studies using well-developed methods to answer clearly stated research questions or hypotheses.Length not stated
- reviewReviews of topics relevant to pharmacy research and practice. These may include 2 general approaches:Structured reviews use a documented, reproducible, rigorous…Length not stated
- reviewsReviews Reviews of topics relevant to pharmacy research and practice.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- 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 Author contributions
For transparency, all articles should include an Author Contributions section on the title page outlining individual authors' contributions to the paper using the relevant CRediT roles: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draf…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosure of conflicts 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 2 places:A …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data availability statement requested in acknowledgements; data sharing encouraged. Model summary
To foster transparency, we ask that you state the availability of your data as part of the acknowledgement section of your submission and encourage you to share your data with other scientists.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
IRB approval or exemption statement required for human participants research. Model summary
Articles involving human participants are required to state within the article text as well as in the cover letter that approval or exemption has been granted by an institutional review board (IRB) or similar body.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Authors must obtain written permission for copyrighted excerpts. Model summary
If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included in submitted manuscripts, authors must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Funder open access agreements available. Model summary
Please visit our Open Access page for more information about open access publishing in this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Partially open peer review: author identities disclosed, reviewer identities masked. Model summary
All manuscripts are initially screened by the editor and associate editors in a staff review process to determine fit with JAPhA's overall scope, scientific merit, and relevance to the field. Authors of manuscripts not selected for peer review are generally notified of this decision within 2 weeks after submission.JAPhA uses a partially open peer-review process in which the identities of authors a…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint references
Preprints may be referenced; formal publication preferred when available. Model summary
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 ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Reporting guidelines
reporting In the interest of improved clarity and quality of reporting, JAPhA requires authors to follow reporting guidelines and/or recommendations when preparing their manuscripts. Selected reporting guidelines are provided here. In some cases, the guidelines are accompanied by a checklist. These checklists act as a reminder for authors and an aid to the editors and peer reviewers when evaluatin…
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 Pharmacists Association
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 2003
- ISSN
- 1544-3191
- Electronic ISSN
- 1544-3450
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of the American Pharmacists Association
What CAS zone is Journal of the American Pharmacists Association in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of the American Pharmacists Association is in Zone 4 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Pharmacology & Pharmacy. 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 the American Pharmacists Association?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.33; CiteScore 4, h-index 83.
How long does peer review take at Journal of the American Pharmacists Association?
Based on the dates recorded on 107 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 101 days (interquartile range 77–147 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 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 Pharmacists Association?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Reference style: AMA. 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 the American Pharmacists Association based?
Of the 43 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (39), Canada (3) and Jordan (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of the American Pharmacists Association?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of the American Pharmacists Association is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Journal of the American Pharmacists Association open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of the American Pharmacists Association is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,230.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .