About the Ochsner Journal

Aim and Scope

Ochsner Journal is a peer-reviewed quarterly medical journal, published in March, June, September, and December.

Since its inception in 1999, the Journal has provided a wide range of peer-reviewed, timely, and practical information. The editorial mix includes original research, literature reviews, reports on quality improvement projects and innovative programs, editorials, case reports, letters, and other articles that span the spectrum of medical practice and scientific research. Most issues are devoted to general medical topics. Submissions from practitioners in all specialties are welcome.

The Journal is a pioneer in nonpredatory, open-access publishing: the Journal does not charge authors any fees for publication AND makes the full text of every article completely available online in multiple databases (PubMed Central [with indexing in PubMed], Web of Science, EBSCO, Semantic Scholar, Google Scholar). Such a model is widely known in scholarly publishing as the “platinum model” of open-access publishing. The Journal's open access model has been assessed and certified/approved by the Directory of Open Access Journals, Scopus, and Cabels.

Imprint information is here.

Citation Metrics, CiteScore, Impact Factor

In late 2010, Ochsner Journal began depositing the full text of every issue with PubMed Central, and since then, metrics related to article access have steadily increased.

Google Scholar metrics show the Journal's external citations history:

Click here to view Ochsner Journal Scopus CiteScore metrics. The Ochsner Journal CiteScore for 2023 is 2.1.

The Ochsner Journal Clarivate Journal Citation Reports/Web of Science impact factor for 2023 is 1.3.

Copyright Information

All articles published by Ochsner Journal are made freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication, without subscription charges or registration barriers. Articles in Ochsner Journal are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY). The original authors retain copyright, but content can be reused without permission or fee provided that the work is properly cited.

Attribution is required when reusing content from Ochsner Journal. Our preferred citation format is ©YEAR AUTHOR et al. Originally published in Ochsner Journal. https://doi.org/10.31486/toj.##.####

For a full explanation of what is meant by the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, refer to the Ochsner Journal Permissions page and to the Creative Commons License Legal Code.

Statement of Human and Animal Rights

When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors must state in the manuscript whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2013 (seventh revision). Authors must specifically state in the Methods section if IRB approval was obtained, discuss the procedure for obtaining informed consent, and provide the ClinicalTrials.gov number assigned to the study if applicable. When reporting experiments on animals, authors must state whether the institutional and national guides for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed and if Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approval was obtained. The Ochsner Journal Research Ethics and Patient Consent Policy is here.

Statement of Informed Consent

Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed upon without informed consent. Identifying information or details in text or photos, including patients’ names, initials, or hospital numbers, will not be published in Ochsner Journal unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent/guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published. A copy of that informed consent must be submitted to Ochsner Journal with the manuscript, and the article must specify that informed consent was obtained. The Ochsner Journal Research Ethics and Patient Consent Policy is here.

Statement of Conflict of Interest

Conflict of interest exists when an author (or the author’s institution), reviewer, or editor has financial or personal relationships that inappropriately influence his or her actions. The potential for conflict of interest can exist whether or not an individual believes that the relationship affects his or her scientific judgment. Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony) are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest and the most likely to undermine the credibility of Ochsner Journal and the authors. Ochsner Journal requires all authors to disclose relevant financial relationships with all submissions.

Publisher Information

Ochsner Journal is published by the Academic Division of Ochsner Clinic Foundation. With 46 hospitals owned, managed, and affiliated, more than 370 health centers and urgent care centers, 37,000 employees, and more than 4,700 affiliated physicians in more than 90 medical specialties and subspecialties, Ochsner is one of the largest independent academic health systems in the United States, the largest health system in the Gulf South, and Louisiana’s largest private employer. Ochsner serves patients from across Louisiana, every state in the nation, and 62 countries. In 2009, Ochsner partnered with The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, to establish a trans-Pacific medical school known as the The University of Queensland-Ochsner Clinical School.

Ochsner Journal supports Ochsner’s mission to serve, heal, lead, educate, and innovate.