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Author Guidelines

Updated September 2023.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Failure to comply with the Author Guidelines may result in a delayed review process. Authors should review the full Author Guidelines prior to submitting any documents. 

Authors are encouraged to review “Preparing a Manuscript for Submission to a Medical Journal” published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) prior to submitting an manuscript. 

All manuscripts submitted to Consultant must be original.

No fees or charges are required for manuscript processing and/or publishing materials in the journal. 

Manuscripts are accepted for publication in Consultant with the understanding that their content, all or in part, have not been published elsewhere and will not be published elsewhere, except in abstract form or by the express consent of the Assistant Editorial Director.

Changes of authorship or in the order of authors are not permitted once the paper has been accepted by Consultant. Requests to add or delete authors during the revision process must be sent to the editorial office for approval.

IMPORTANT: Consultant follows ICMJE recommendations regarding the roles and responsibilities of each author. Importantly, per ICMJE guidelines, the corresponding author of a submitted manuscript must be available throughout the submission process to respond to editorial queries in a timely manner, and following publication to respond to critiques or comments of the published work.  

Additionally, the corresponding author must provide an email that is consistently accessed and used throughout the editorial process. We also ask that the corresponding author add the “@hmpglobal.com” domain to their safe sender list to avoid correspondence being caught in spam filters.

Failure to adhere to these guidelines may lead to rejection of your paper, no matter the stage of the editorial process. Any instances of research and publication misconduct will be handled in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and internal HMP policy.

REQUIRED FOR SUBMISSION

Title page—Including submission title; authorship information with full name, academic degree(s) or credentials, and affiliations of each author; contact information for the corresponding author; disclosures of support; conflicts of interest; number of tables, figures, and images; and manuscript word count (excluding the abstract, figure or table legends, and references).

Manuscript—Blinded manuscript should be in submitted in a Microsoft Word document with the required body sections, references, and table/figure legends. Tables must be in an editable form. Tables/figures/images should also be submitted separately. IMPORTANT: Authors submitting manuscripts are responsible for blinding of the manuscript text, including the names of the authors' institutions, references to previous work, etc.

Author disclosure form(s)—Each author listed should complete an Author Disclosure form (eg, 4 authors, 4 disclosure forms).

Patient or parent/guardian consent form (if applicable)–Patient consent is required to be submitted if the manuscript and/or figures include identifiable patient characteristics, or for images of a sensitive nature (graphic images, including genitalia, etc).  

Figures & Tables (if applicable)–Authors should follow the below instructions for submissions with accompanying figures, tables, patient images, and scans:

  • Images should be at least 300 dpi resolution and uploaded within the manuscript and as separate files.
  • A descriptive title should accompany each table or figure.
  • All abbreviations must be identified in a legend.
  • If the table/figure has been published previously, permission to reprint the figure must be obtained in written from the copyright owner by the author and submitted with the manuscript at the time of initial submission. Sources should be acknowledged in the legend of the respective figure or table.

References–References should be listed at the end of the manuscript according to the latest American Medical Association (AMA) Manual of Style guidelines. All in-text reference citations should be numbered in sequential order, superscripted, and have a corresponding reference listed in the reference list.

ARTICLE TYPES & REQUIRED SECTIONS

Consultant accepts the following article types for consideration. Each article type should include the accompanying sections within manuscript with some variation allowed. All submissions must have >5 sources. View our case report templates page for a downloadable template of each case report type.

  • Original Research - Abstract (150-250 words), Introduction, Materials and/or Methods, Results, Discussion, Limitations, Conclusion. An original research article is defined as a research report in which new findings are presented (eg, randomized control trial, case-control study, crossover trial, prospective trial, comparative-effectiveness research). This article type advances scientific knowledge and helps inform clinical practice, treatment options, and management strategies to advance patient care and outcomes. (≤5000 words, excluding title page, abstract, and references) 
  • Review  - Introduction, Epidemiology, Clinical Features and Diagnosis, Treatment and Management, Conclusions. Consultant review articles are peer-reviewed and should address a specific issue/question/topic about the disease state that is relevant to primary care and/or specialists. For more information on our Review articles, download our Review article template.
  • Case Report - Introduction, History, Diagnostic/Laboratory testing, Differential Diagnosis, Treatment and management, Outcome and follow-up, Discussion, and Conclusion. A case report is defined as a paper that reports a specific patient case, outcomes, and follow-up care. For more information on our case reports, visit our Case Report Templates page.
  • Case Series - Narrative Abstract (> 200 words), Introduction, History, Diagnostic/Laboratory testing, Differential Diagnosis, Treatment and management, Outcome and follow-up, Discussion, and Conclusion. A case series article is defined as an observational report in which 2 or more cases describe a similar problem or treatment approach used, and it provides a new perspective to or new evidence related to that problem or approach. (≤3000 words, excluding title page, abstract, and references) 
  • Commentary - This is an evidence-based opinion piece on topics of interest to readers. The Editors reserve the right to decide whether these submissions require full peer reviews. 

REVIEW PROCESS

Plagiarism Screening
Consultant uses iThenticate to verify the originality of manuscripts submitted for consideration. By submitting your manuscript to Consultant, you agree to a plagiarism screening via iThenticate before manuscript is sent for peer review.

Authors are responsible for clearly identifying any non-original or pre-published material and providing the full citation of the original source. Credit and/or courtesy lines for borrowed tables, figures, or data contained therein, should be included. These credit lines must clearly state how and where the material was borrowed from (ie, “data from,” “reproduced from,” “reprinted from”) with complete source information. Permission for such items not in public domain must be obtained in writing from the copyright owner by the author and submitted with the manuscript.

Peer Review
All articles are peer reviewed using a double-blind peer-review process. Before a reviewer may accept an invitation to review, they are required to disclose and confirm known competing interests regarding their relationship to the assigned manuscript. If an article is accepted for publication, the corresponding author will be notified via email of the revision requirements supplied by the peer reviewers. During the review process, the reviewers or Editors often request authors revise their manuscript. The final decision on acceptance for publication can be made only after the revised version of the manuscript has been reevaluated. 

Accepted articles will undergo full copyedit and subsequent proof edits to ensure clinical accuracy, clarity, flow, and adherence to the latest AMA style handbook and current journal house style.

Review Time Notice
Due to an increased volume of submissions, submitted manuscripts may not receive a decision email for up to 4 months. To avoid significant delays in the peer-review process or editorial processing of your manuscript, please adhere to all submission guidelines.

ETHICS & EDITORIAL POLICIES

Ethics and Equity Positions
Authors must comply with FDA guidelines and animal welfare regulations of the author’s institution. Patients have a right to privacy that should not be violated without informed consent. Identifying information, including names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, or pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication.

Opinions expressed by authors are their own and not necessarily those of HMP Global, the editorial staff, or any member of the Editorial Advisory Board. The publishers of Consultant accept no responsibility for statements made by contributors or claims made by advertisers, nor does the publication of advertisements constitute or imply endorsement.

Want to submit to Consultant?

All articles must be uploaded through our online submission system at: https://www.editorialmanager.com/consultant/default2.aspx.

If you do not have an author account in our system, you will be required to make one. Please proceed to the "Register" link in the top header. If you already have an author account, you may proceed directly to "Login" in the top header. Authors who have lost or forgotten their login credentials should use the "Send Username/Password" link.

Once logged in, click the "Submit New Manuscript" link and follow the instructions.