ApexMed – Journal of Health Sciences
Maintaining strict confidentiality is central to the integrity, objectivity, and ethical rigor of ApexMed’s editorial and peer review process. These confidentiality protocols outline the responsibilities of editors, reviewers, and journal staff to protect the privacy of all parties involved and ensure the secure handling of manuscript content throughout the editorial lifecycle.
All submitted manuscripts are treated as privileged documents.
Editors must not disclose, discuss, or use manuscript content (including data, images, and supplementary files) for any purpose other than editorial assessment.
Unpublished materials must never be used for personal research or shared with third parties.
Manuscripts under review must be treated as confidential intellectual property.
Reviewers may not discuss manuscript content with colleagues or others without prior written permission from the editorial office.
Digital or printed copies must be securely stored and destroyed after the review process is complete.
Access to manuscripts and related files is limited to designated staff and authorized editors.
Staff members must not access or disclose manuscript content without editorial authorization and must protect all confidential files using secure systems.
ApexMed follows a double-blind peer review model. To protect anonymity:
Author information is removed before reviewer assignment.
Reviewers remain anonymous to authors during and after the review process.
Editors are responsible for ensuring no identifying information is inadvertently included in review files or correspondence.
Reviewer identities are confidential and must not be shared with authors, other reviewers, or external parties.
Editors must ensure submission system settings and email correspondence do not reveal reviewer identities.
All communications (editorial decisions, reviewer feedback, revision instructions) are confidential and must be handled only by authorized personnel.
Forwarding or sharing emails, files, or decision letters with unauthorized persons is strictly prohibited.
Editorial correspondence with reviewers, including manuscript summaries and guidance, must remain confidential.
Reviewer comments shared with authors are anonymized. Direct or indirect identification of reviewers is not allowed.
Only registered and authorized users may access ApexMed’s editorial submission system.
Editors, reviewers, and staff must safeguard their login credentials and avoid storing passwords on public devices.
Manuscript files must be stored on secure, password-protected devices.
Avoid saving confidential files in cloud storage platforms or shared folders unless encrypted and access-controlled.
Sharing files outside the review system is not permitted without written editorial consent.
Rejected manuscripts and associated reviews remain confidential.
Editors, reviewers, and staff must not use or reference these materials in any future work.
All locally stored copies must be deleted in accordance with ApexMed’s data retention policy.
While published articles are publicly accessible, all materials related to the peer review process—including reviewer identities, editorial deliberations, and decision rationale—must remain confidential in perpetuity.
Any breach—intentional or accidental—must be immediately reported to the editorial board.
The editorial team will conduct a full review, inform affected individuals, and take corrective actions as needed.
Violations of confidentiality protocols may result in:
Removal from the reviewer or editorial board
Revocation of access to the submission system
Notification to the reviewer’s or editor’s affiliated institution
Formal reporting to ethical oversight bodies (e.g., COPE)
ApexMed is committed to ethical publishing standards and follows guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). All participants involved in the publication process are required to uphold these confidentiality principles.
