Journal profile · Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Patient Education and Counseling
ISSN 0738-3991 · eISSN 1873-5134 · Elsevier Ireland Ltd · IRELAND · Monthly · Founded 1983
Patient Education and Counseling: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.02; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,830; median 179 days to acceptance (120 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 75%; 710 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Patient Education and Counseling is published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd 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 Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare, Health Literacy and Information Accessibility and Diabetes Management and Education, together about 38.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are General Health Professions. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Patient Education and Counseling (PEC) is the Official journal of EACH, the International Association for Communication in Health Care and ACH, the Academy of Communication in Healthcare. As an interdisciplinary journal for clinicians, the PEC aims to provide a forum for fundamental and applied research, as well as to promote the study of processes affecting clinical communication, patient education, counseling, health promotion, and training models in improving communication between providers and patients.Areas of particular interest include:Contemporary issues and controversies in patient education, provider-patient communication, and counselingAdherence to therapeutic regimens, provider-patient communication, patient participation in health care, decision-making skills, health literacy, anxiety, physiological changes, or health/functional status, in particular as they relate to patient education and counselingMedical education efforts regarding the teaching/training and evaluation of interpersonal skills of health care providers and their attitudes and the skills needed for optimal communicationInnovative programs exemplifying the models of health care support, such as self-care groups, patient advocacy efforts, medication self-administration programs, and co-operative care units
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Editor-in-chief Kirsten McCafferyPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 2%); most named United States 22, Australia 9, Netherlands 6, Hong Kong, China 3, United Kingdom 3 (64 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Patient-Provider Communication in HealthcareHealth Professions23.4%
- Health Literacy and Information AccessibilityHealth Professions8.2%
- Diabetes Management and EducationMedicine6.5%
- Cancer survivorship and careMedicine5.2%
- Empathy and Medical EducationMedicine5.1%
- Palliative Care and End-of-Life IssuesMedicine4.3%
- Patient Satisfaction in HealthcareHealth Professions3.8%
- Innovations in Medical EducationMedicine3.5%
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 | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Public, Environmental & Occupational Health | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview 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
- 3.02LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 6.2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.19LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.54LetPub ·
- h-index
- 119LetPub ·
- h-index
- 218OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 5,730OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.3OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 43.06%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 307LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 10,990 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 350 | 197 | 112 |
| 2025 | 710 | 255 | 1,057 |
| 2024 | 332 | 204 | 2,038 |
| 2023 | 711 | 255 | 3,701 |
| 2022 | 261 | 136 | 4,123 |
| 2021 | 484 | 250 | 9,209 |
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
179 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 130 days – 244 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 2 days (120 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 184 days
- Sample
- 120 articles with submission and acceptance dates (840 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 6 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 75%LetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 15 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 85 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 161 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 3 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single-anonymous peer review, at least 1 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
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 3,830 / EUR 3,580 / GBP 3,070 / JPY 475,030 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,080 | — | — |
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 prepare7 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 300 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,000 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Highlights
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- brief research reportDuring online submission, the author can select a category from the following list: Research Paper, Review Article, Brief Research Report, Reflective Practice, …Length not stated
- correspondencelem in an area relevant to the journal. Correspondence Papers (up to 1500 words) with brief comments on topics of interest to PECs aims andmain text ≤ 1,500 words
- discussionDuring online submission, the author can select a category from the following list: Research Paper, Review Article, Brief Research Report, Reflective Practice, …Length not stated
- reflective practiceDuring online submission, the author can select a category from the following list: Research Paper, Review Article, Brief Research Report, Reflective Practice, …Length not stated
- research paperDuring online submission, the author can select a category from the following list: Research Paper, Review Article, Brief Research Report, Reflective Practice, …Length not stated
- research reportincluding references and tables). Brief Research Reports Brief articles in any of the above categories will also be considered (maximum 1500 words not including…main text ≤ 1,500 words
- review articleDuring online submission, the author can select a category from the following list: Research Paper, Review Article, Brief Research Report, Reflective Practice, …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
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 Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
single anonymized review process Model summary
This journal follows a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of one reviewer for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Rea…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. In support of Open Science, this journal offers its authors a free preprint posting service on SSRN, Elsevier’s preprint and early research …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Reporting Guidelines
Authors should use reporting guidelines relevant for their study type to ensure a transparent and complete description of study methodology. They need to include the completed reporting checklist as a supplemental file and refer to the file within the manuscript. An overview of reporting guidelines can be found at www.equator-network.org. Below are suggested reporting guidelines for some commonly …
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 Ireland Ltd
- Country or region
- IRELAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1983
- ISSN
- 0738-3991
- Electronic ISSN
- 1873-5134
- Society / sponsor
- EACH
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Patient Education and Counseling
What CAS zone is Patient Education and Counseling in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Patient Education and Counseling is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Public, Environmental & Occupational Health / Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Patient Education and Counseling?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.02; CiteScore 6.2, h-index 218.
How long does peer review take at Patient Education and Counseling?
Based on the dates recorded on 120 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 179 days (interquartile range 130–244 days); authors report an average review time of about 6 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 75%”. 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 Patient Education and Counseling?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,000 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Highlights: Required; 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Patient Education and Counseling based?
Of the 64 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (22), Australia (9) and Netherlands (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Patient Education and Counseling?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Patient Education and Counseling is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Patient Education and Counseling open access, and what is the APC?
Patient Education and Counseling is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,830.
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 2026-08-28). Last updated: .