About the Journal

JOURNAL AIMS and SCOPE

  • Editorial Mission
  • Audience
  • Open Access Statement
  • Submission Categories and Article Topics
  • Publishing Frequency and Article Statistics
  • Governing Body
  • APC Fees and Publishing Model
  • Refund Policy 
  • What the APC Covers
  • Waiver Policy
  • Archiving and Scholarly Practices
  • Indexing
  • Memberships and Affiliations
  • Revenue Sources
  • Copyright and License Notice
  • Diversity Commitment
  • Publisher
  • Management and Ownership

 

Editorial Mission

Blockchain in Healthcare Today, ISSN 2573-8240

Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY) is the leading international open access peer reviewed journal that amplifies and disseminates platform approaches in healthcare and distributed ledger technology research and innovations. Fields of interest include healthcare information systems, leveraging data science tools and techniques, interoperability, consent mechanisms, privacy preservation, security of health data, clinical trials management, supply chain management, revenue cycle automation, immersive technologies, tokenomics, governance, regulation, network technologies, clinical computing, cryptography, and failed experiments in this evolving specialty field of research.

Founded in 2018, the historic journal is credited with creating and validating this new technology and research field, bridging research excellence with real world market implementations and impact. A world class peer review board offers constructive commentary to strengthen work.

Audience

BHTY's audience includes researchers, innovators, pioneers, founders, business executives, hospital and health system executives, consultants, entrepreneurs, policy regulators, health information technologists, auditors, computational engineers, computer scientists, data scientists, healthcare network users, public health, and pioneers across the globe. All those with an interest in the latest knowledge on platform tech and DLT are welcome to join the journal's ecosystem.

Open Access Statement

BHTY is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or their institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. 

Submission Categories

Authors around the globe are invited to submit manuscripts in the following categories:

  • Original Research
  • Proof of Concept//Pilots/Methodologies
  • Use Case
  • Production/Deployment
  • Narrative/Systematic Reviews/Meta-Analysis
  • Clinical Case Studies
  • Technical Briefs & Short Reports
  • Editorial or Discussion

For further details and descriptions, please visit Information for Authors & Editorial Policies here.  Upload manuscripts on the portal at https://blockchainhealthcaretoday.com/index.php/journal/about/submissions

Article Topics

Below is a short list of topics. For a complete list please review the detailed 2024 General Call for Papers here.

  • USE CASES:  contact tracing,  supply chains and management, distributed data storage, security and privacy, cybersecurity, key learnings from successful and unsuccessful experiences
  • MODELS for TRUST: Zero knowledge proofs and data privacy, Secure multiparty computation and privacy preserving technology, consensus algorithms and data provenance, transactional data sharing and integrity.  
  • NEW BUSINESS MODELS: value based health economics, incentive models, cashless economy, internet of value, ecosystem structure and dynamics, scalability, sustainability, and enterprise maturity.
  • HIT: Electronic Health Records, interoperability, medical devices, clinical trials, provenance,  Internet of Things (IoT), wearables, sensors, smart  homes and health environments, platform networks.
  • LEGAL, REGULATORY, GOVERNANCE and ETHICS: health policy, regulation, governance, consumer protection, drug safety, ethical considerations for new technology, health insurance, fraud, liability, indemnification.
  • EDUCATION: technology fundamentals, innovation management, managing digital transformation, workforce transformation, consumer adoption, DeFi.
  • SPECIAL REPORTS: public health impact, pandemic core challenges and opportunities with DLT, consensus statements, guidelines and recommendations from a task force or work group, discovery frameworks, roadmaps, technology adoption and market trends, These manuscripts are neither reviews nor original reports of primary research. 

In addition, BHTY publishes a BLOG, where authors can share reflections on any aspect of healthcare, policy, and technology around the globe. Upload manuscripts on the portal here.

Publishing Frequency

Three (3) annual issues: April, August, and December, beginning 2024.

Respective deadlines are March 1, July 1, and November 1.

BHTY may add additional special or theme collection(s) that include BHTY journal ConV2X meeting proceedings, and/or meeting proceedings that are contracted. This may increase the number of total issues. These issues may provide authors around the globe with unique opportunities to share work and may include visual presentations, video, audio, or a combination thereof. Journal policies and ethics will be adhered to throughout. Each issue number will reflect the numerical sequence in which it is published.

2023 Article Statistics

  • Days to First Editorial Decision:  6
  • Desk Reject Rate:   48%
  • Acceptance Rate:  24%
  • Days to Accept:  101
  • Average days to publication:  106

Note: BHTY maintains high editorial review standards reflected by acceptance in leading indexes. Author revisions add days to turnaround, acceptance, and publication timeframes. Journal staff is happy to streamline papers for authors requiring faster turnaround. There is no extra charge.

Governing Body - Contact info@partnersindigitalhealth.com 

BHTY editorial leadership is comprised of world-renowned experts bringing depth, breadth of knowledge, and curiosity to the journal. For a complete list of members and financial disclosures, please click this link.

Editor-in-Chief

John D. Halamka, MD, MS, President, Mayo Clinic Platform, USA

Associate Editors-in-Chief

Brian Ahier, Lead Health Technology Engineer, MITRE Corporation, USA
 
Frederic Devaulx, PhD, Contractor, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Vice President, Prometheus Computing, USA
 
Synho Do, MS, PhD​, Director, Lab of Medical Imaging and Computation, Radiology, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical Schoo​l, ​Affiliate Faculty, Kempner Institute, Harvard University​, USA
 
Journal Staff Managing Editor
John Russo Jr., PharmD, Blockchain in Healthcare Today, USA
j.russo@partnersindigitalhealth.com
 

The Managing Editor conducts plagiarism checks, desk rejections due to format or language, ensures editorial and research writing standards, timely ethical peer review, scholarly guidelines and practices are adhered as ascribed by ICMJE, COPE and WAME. Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors-in-Chief assess manuscripts for submission quality, peer review routiing, quality, technical, health innovation, education and market merits, while all editorial board members and reviewers may assess and provide rigorous double blind peer review and constructive feedback for authors. All members abide by publishing ethics guidelines ascribed by COPE to ensure the highest standards are adhered to.

APC Fees and Publishing Model 

There is a fee to publish an article in the journal.

BHTY’s Article Processing Charge (APC) for the international specialty journal is $1150.00 USD for original research articles up to 12,000 words not including references or images, $1450.00 USD for Special Reports (15,000 words and 80-100+ references), and $650.00 USD for students currently enrolled at an academic institution. There is no APC for failed, negative, or null research submissions if accepted. Please plan accordingly.

The APC must be paid in full before the article is published, and will be invoiced at manuscript acceptance. The corresponding author will receive the invoice unless the publisher receives other instruction. The fee is determined by the lead author. For example, if the lead author is a PhD student, the university rate will apply.

There is no APC for editorials, opinions (2000 word maximum), or blog submissions (1000 word maximum).

If any changes are required or requested post final galley approval by the author(s) such as update versions, post publication discussion and correction (Errata and Retractions), changes to affiliation, graphs, images etc., a flat fee of $350.00 USD will be invoiced in addition to the APC. The fee will be imposed each time an author(s) makes chages after approving a final galley to post as the version of record.

Authors can pay invoices with digital currency. Contact the publisher for more information if you would like to use this payment method at t.cenaj@partnersindigitalhealth.com

BHTY encourages libraries, organizations, and institutions around the globe to execute simple Publish and Read Agreements with the journal. Contact the publisher, Tory Cenaj, at t.cenaj@partnersindigitalhealth.com, for special pricing and turnkey details.

Refund policy

There are no refunds. Authors cannot withdraw a manuscript after it is accepted, and will be invoiced accordingly. Time and resources are dedicated to routing a manuscript through peer review. If accepted, BHTY will publish the work. There are unscrupulous efforts underfoot where papers have been submitted, routed, accepted, and withdrawn to experience the benefit of BHTY high quality peer review. The APC was also waived for some of these submissions. These schemes will not be tolerated by the publisher. The publisher has identified several low cost editing services to use should an author need assistance with a manuscript. We are here to assist and create a supportive learning environment. See Language Editing here for details.

What does the article-processing charge (APC) cover?
Costs are involved in every stage of the publication process, including software, platform hosting, copyediting, production, proofs, graphics, archiving on dedicated servers, time stamping article provenance on the distributed ledger and providing custom dashboards to authors, membership to appropriate scholarly publishing organizations such as STM, COPE, Altmetric, ScienceOpen and many others, management of database and lists, social media dissemination and writing, market research and journal amplification, coding for journal plugins and new features, and compensation for work performed and commissioned (this does not include peer review or board members).

Waiver policy

BHTY has a waiver policy for authors from lower-middle income countries as per the World Bank (click here for details). We give fair consideration to all submissions, and believe this should not be linked to the ability to pay. Where limited funding is available to authors, BHTY can provide a complete or partial waiver. Papers are reviewed based strictly on MERIT. The quality and contribution it makes to the sector supersedes the APC. We believe this is paramount for fair and open exchange. Authors should submit a request for a waiver in their manuscript cover letter or email a request to the publisher at t.cenaj@partnersindigitalhealth.com

Archiving and Scholarly Practices

BHTY uses LOCKSS preservation, Portico, CrossRef, CrossMark and the PKP|PS Indexing service. 

Indexing

BHTY is indexed in:

  • PubMed and PubMed Central
  • SCOPUS 
  • Norwegian Register For Scientific Journals, Series And Publishers
  • Google Scholar
  • EBSCOhost Health Business Elite
  • Index Copernicus
  • Unpaywall
  • NEBIS
  • Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research (GFMER)
  • Engineering Village
  • ProQuest Health & Medical Complete
  • ProQuest Public Health
  • ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Program
  • Public Knowledge Project metadata harvester
  • *Under review at WoS and DOAJ

Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) H-Index :6

Scopus Citescore 2023:  2.4

BHTY does not have an impact factor yet. Be assured, BHTY is working hard to meet this industry preference, however, trends indicate the JIF may not be the leading indicator for journal selection and articles will and are being amplified on their own merits. This is why BHTY is highly active across social media and provides authors with engagment measurements other that the JIF. We believe authors seek fair and bibliodiverse environments where their work is disseminated and amplified across relevant scientific, public and not-for-profit ecosystems and audiences around the globe.

Memberships and Affiliations

Revenue Sources

BHTY revenue consists of the journal APC, advertising support for the journal, reprints, article publication fees, special editions, supplements, summits, advisory, roundtable proceedings, and custom projects.  The journal hosts the annual Converge2Xcelerate (#ConV2X) conference. Under no circumstance does commercial support impact the editorial decisions for journal manuscript review or acceptance. BHTY encourages libraries, organizations, and institutions around the globe to execute simple Publish and Read Agreements with the journal. Contact the publisher, Tory Cenaj, at t.cenaj@partnersindigitalhealth.com

Copyright and License Notice

Authors contributing to BHTY agree to publish their articles under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International License that allows reuse, subject only to the use being non-commercial, and to the article being fully attributed. Authors hold and retain copyright of their work. Authors retain the copyright and full publishing rights with first publication rights granted to Blockchain in Healthcare Today (BHTY). BHTY makes all open access articles freely available from the date of publication. 

Diversity Commitment

Partners in Digital Health (PDH) is committed to supporting diversity, inclusion and egalitarianism in scholalry publishing. This belief is reflected in our internal journal practices, editorial and peer review boards, published content, journal and community outreach, and ambassador chapters to demonstrate these values to communities far and wide, and tear down barriers and borders relating to knowledge, economics, age, race, gender, sexual orientation, geography, and political views. The journal maintains an objective, unbiased, and fair balanced posture at all times. 

Priorities and actions include:

  • Manuscript submission and Authorship 
  • Peer review
  • Editorial and Advisory Board Members
  • ConV2X Conference and Pitch Competition
  • Fees and Business Model
  • Ambassador Chapters

We encourage all global citizens from all countries to learn, share, and participate as equals.  As of November 2023, the editorial board is comprised of:

  • 23.8% Female
  • 76.2% Male
  • 61.9% are from the United States 
  • 38.1% are located outside the United States
  • 36.5% are non-White

2023 Author Statistics are as follows:
- 42% Female
- 58% Male
- 61.5% located outside the United States
- 46% are non-White

Publisher

 It is the responsibility of the journal owner and publisher to appoint and dismiss editors.

The journal is published by Partners in Digital Health (PDH), a forward reaching communications company publishing the peer reviewed journals Blockchain in Healthcare Today and Telehealth and Medicine Today, producer of the companion ConVerge2Xcelerate (#ConV2X) conference series, and Innovation Ignition Pitch Competition. The portfolio converges leading academics, pragmatic innovators, and practitioners around the globe to accelerate healthcare transformation and consensus building for evolving research fields, to heighten trust, transparency, and truth across its audience.

Management and Ownership

Partners in Digital Health (PDH), was founded in 2015 and is privately owned and independently operated by Tory Cenaj. Please see correspondence details below to contact the owner for inquiries.

Partners in Digital Health
241 Hamilton Avenue, Suite 21
Stamford, CT 06902, USA
Attention: Tory Cenaj, Owner and Publisher

Those with an interest in submitting a manuscript or obtaining further information are encouraged to do so. Send inquiries to the Managing Editor, John Russo, PharmD, at j.russo@partnersindigitalhealth.com or the Owner and Publisher, Tory Cenaj, at t.cenaj@partnersindigitalhealth.com

PDH acknowledges medical publishing contributes to carbon emissions which is a threat to planetary health. Stakeholders should work together for a zero emission goal.