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Author Submission Guidelines

Contents

Call for Papers

Safer Together: Transforming Healthcare Safety Strategies for Patients, Healthcare Professionals, and Academic Partners

Special Issue of the HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Submission Deadline June 30, 2026

Background

Safety is the foundation of high-quality, effective, and efficient healthcare. A culture of safety requires intentional dedication from organizations, leaders, providers, and even patients. Equally important is the promotion of workplace wellbeing, which recognizes the inseparable connection between patient, student and healthcare worker safety.

High-reliability organizations—those consistently delivering safe, high-quality outcomes in complex, high-risk environments—achieve this by embedding safety into every aspect of their operations. In these environments, every individual—whether a patient, care provider, faculty member, or learner—is valued as integral to the shared mission of safety.

This special issue of the HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine is dedicated to advancing Strategies for Enhancing Safer Healthcare Systems.

Themes of Interest

The safety culture literature commonly cites challenges such as leadership commitment, effective communication, teamwork, organizational culture, change management, and resource limitations. This special issue seeks original research, systematic reviews, implementation studies, education articles, and case studies that advance healthcare, patient, and/or workforce safety by sharing innovative strategies, policy improvements, or implementation science initiatives.

We welcome submissions aligned with the themes of this special issue including, but not limited to:

  • Communication, teamwork, culture: Strategies to build confidence and trust, improve collaboration, reporting systems, or leadership
  • Evaluation of safety interventions in the workplace, student environment, or within the community: Effectiveness of evidence-based or novel innovative strategies to minimize harm
  • Patient safety enhancement: Preventative or proactive improvements to reduce harm or promote patient-centered care
  • Shared decision making: Impact of engaging patients, families, staff, leaders, educators, or students in identifying or co-designing safety endeavors
  • Innovation or technology: Evaluation of smart technologies, digital health, or artificial intelligence in safety initiatives for either patients or healthcare colleagues
  • Novel education or training: Techniques to create or enhance a climate of safety
  • Academic-clinical partnerships: Collaborative models that integrate safety into clinical education, research, and practice
  • Policy and systems-level change: Implementation science, policy reform, and organizational strategies that drive sustainable safety improvements

Submissions

The deadline for submission to the special issue is June 30, 2026. Please note in your cover letter that your submission is intended for consideration for inclusion in this special issue. Submissions must be made via the journal submission portal. We welcome contributions to all sections of the journal including News and Editorials, Education, Clinical Review, Case Reports, Research, and Humanities. Before submitting, please consult the Author Guidelines to ensure your submission meets the journal’s standards for the selected article types. The HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine charges no author processing fees for accepted manuscripts. Questions and pre-submission inquiries can be sent to the managing editor, Graig Donini, at Graig.Donini@HCAhealthcare.com.

Peer Review

All manuscripts submitted for the special issue will undergo thorough peer review. The submission, review, and acceptance workflow will be managed through the journal’s online portal. Manuscripts will be evaluated based on the journal’s standard criteria for relevance and quality, as well as their alignment with the themes outlined in the call for papers. If you would like to be a reviewer, please contact the managing editor, Graig Donini, at Graig.Donini@HCAhealthcare.com.

Author Guidelines

Please see the Aims and Scope page for the journal’s mission and the topics acceptable for submission.

The journal is open access and charges no author or article processing fees to submit or publish. The journal welcomes participation from anyone in the medical community and encourages the participation of residents, fellows, and medical students.

Authorship Criteria

Follow the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors' (ICMJE) guidelines for determining authorship. These guidelines base authorship on the following four criteria:

  • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; and
  • Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and
  • Final approval of the version to be published; and
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Submission Types

Updated 4/30/2024

The following are guidelines for the submission types we are currently accepting. Page, figure/table, and reference maximums are not hard limits but suggestions to help authors aim for a concise use of words and images and to make sure our peer reviewers aren't overloaded by verbose or needlessly complicated submissions.

Editorial/News

     News and Other Non-Scholarly Editorial Submissions

Brief articles that include opinion pieces, new findings in research, innovations in education or discussions of clinical scenarios. Articles should be around 1500 words and no more than 2 figures or tables. Keep references to no more than 20. No abstract is needed, but a synopsis of around 150 words should be included.

     Letters to the Editor

A letter that addresses current event or references a previously published article in the journal, be it for correction, suggestion or expanded discussion. The body text should be around 1000 words with no more than 2 figures or tables. If the letter refers to an article published in the HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine, it must include a full citation for that work.

Clinical Review

     Literature or Narrative Review

A survey of the academic literature on a topic of interest. The body text shouldn’t exceed 4000 words with no more than 5 figures or tables. Keep the reference list to 50 citations or less. An abstract of around 250 words should be included. Mini reviews will also be considered.

Authors of literature reviews should follow the EQUATOR Reporting Guidelines.

     Metadata Analysis or Systematic Reviews

An article that summarizes data from individual studies regarding a treatment or procedure. The body text shouldn’t exceed 4000 words and should have a structured abstract (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion, Keywords) with around 300 words. The article should have no more than 6 figures or tables. There are no limits on the number of references that may be included.

Authors of metadata analyses and systematic reviews should follow the EQUATOR Reporting Guidelines.

Research

     Original Research and Brief Reports

An article that presents original findings that advance scientific knowledge and have implications on patient care. The body text shouldn’t exceed 4000 words and should have a structured abstract (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion, Keywords) of around 300 words. The article should have no more than 6 figures or tables. There are no limits on the number of references that may be included. IRB letters are required for any research study submitted to the journal, including those exempted from IRB oversight.

Authors of research articles should follow the EQUATOR Reporting Guidelines.

     Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

An article that demonstrates an intervention or change that significantly improves patient outcomes. The body text shouldn’t exceed 3000 words. It should have a structure abstract (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion, Keywords) with around 300 words. It should have no more than 3 tables or figures and 20 or fewer references. IRB letters are required for any research study submitted to the journal, including those exempted from IRB oversight.

Authors of quality improvement articles should follow the EQUATOR Reporting Guidelines.

Clinical Image

A high-quality image or video. The text should consist of the case presentation and a discussion and be no more than 1000 words with no more than 5 figures or videos. There should be less than 6 authors. No more than 10 references should be cited. The abstract should be a description of the case and have around 150 words. Informed consent protocols must be adhered to, including written patient permission for any use of likeness. HCA EMPLOYEES: Written consent is required for use of any image depicting a patient, from histochemical studies to photos of the patient’s body.

Case Report

A report of a unique clinical case, scenario, or series. The body text should be no more than 2000 words with no more than 5 figures or tables for a single case. A case series will likely be longer and have more figures and tables. There should be less than 6 authors. No more than 20 references should be cited. It should have a structured abstract (Introduction, Case Presentation and Conclusion) of around 300 words. Informed consent protocols must be adhered to, including written patient permission for any use of likeness. We recommend you read the follow the guidelines presented in our article “A Guide to Writing Quality Case Reports.” HCA HEALTHCARE EMPLOYEES: Written consent is required for use of any image depicting a patient, from histochemical studies to photos of the patient’s body.

Education

Education articles can be typed under any of the other content types. Refer to the other submission types to find what type best matches your content. The editors can determine if an article should be in this section rather than another section, but generally content in this section is focused on education at any level.

Humanities

Submissions to the Humanities section are curated by Dr. Barbara Gracious in consultation with other Editorial Board members and the managing editor. Written submissions should be less than 3000 words. Photographs shouldn't include identifiable persons without signed permission for sharing their likeness. No abstract is needed, but a synopsis of around 150 words should be included. Each submission should include a cover letter sharing some background on the submission, a title, any descriptive elements needed, and acknowledgements of any contributions to the work from others.

Submission Requirements

Please follow these guidelines as closely as possible. Articles not conforming to the guidelines may be returned for revision prior to being assigned an editor. Following these guidelines will ensure your article will begin the peer review process in a timely manner.

     Cover Letter

Because the journal uses a double-blind reviewing procedure, the cover letter will include the usual title page information, including authorship and affiliations, and contact information for the corresponding author, with postal address, email address, and telephone number. It should include the type of article being submitted along with a word count of the abstract and body text, and whether it has been previously submitted to other publications or presented at a conference or meeting. Disclosures of financial support, including grant numbers, should also be provided. These disclosures might need additional documentation as required by the journal.

     Formatting

Prepare your manuscript in accordance with the AMA Manual of Style, 11th edition or the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.

Manuscripts should be sent in a Word document, and not as a PDF. Make sure to turn on line numbers to aid reviewers in commenting on your article. Individual files should be less than 5 MB each. An exception to these rules can be made if a video is part of your submission.

The manuscript file should include an abstract, body text, references, and if needed, figure captions and tables. Don't include a title page with your submission as reviews are double-blind. Any supplementary information should be included in separate files.

Note for those working in Google Docs: Our submission system does not recognize documents produced in Google Docs. You will need to access a computer with Microsoft Word to get the file in a recognizable format. Follow these steps prior to submission:

  • Download the document from Google Docs as a ".docx" file.
  • Open the downloaded document and open a new blank word template in Microsoft Word.
  • Copy and paste the text/body of the downloaded Google Docs file to the new word template.
  • Save the new Word template/file and upload this file to the journal.

     Abstract

The structured abstract should include sections titled ‘Background’, ‘Methods’, ‘Results’, ‘Conclusions’, and ‘Keywords’ for research and review articles. Other submissions should include an unstructured abstract or brief summary of the contents as noted above.

     Body Text

Use 10- to 12-point fonts (any standard available Word font will suffice, but Calibri, Arial, and New Times Roman are common choices) for all text and double-space lines of text. Use bold type and all-caps for main headings and bold types with sentence case for secondary headings. If emphasis is needed in the text use italics, not bold-face type.

     References

References should use AMA style. Author and editor lists of more than 6 should show the first 3 followed by “et al.” Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the style used for MEDLINE. References should be listed in the order they appear in the text.

     Data Analyses and Statistics

Descriptive and inferential statistics should be described in full in the Methods section including power analyses, the purpose of the analyses, and if any data were excluded. When reporting statistical analyses in the results, provide an interpretation of the statistical output along with the numeric results. This includes an explanation of the direction of the effect and what that statistic says about your data. We strongly encourage the calculation of effect sizes such as Cohen’s d, eta squared, and r-squared.

     Tables

Tables should be formatted in Word or Excel, so your data can be directly imported for publication, avoiding errors in transcription.

Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and in order of their first citation in the text. Each table should have a short, but explanatory title that allows the table to standalone without the text. Make sure all tables are cited in the text.

Each column should have a brief title or heading. Footnotes can be used to expand on information rather than having lengthy titles or column headings. Use symbols in the following order for footnotes: *, †, ‡, §. Double these symbols in the same order for additional footnotes.

Data published or unpublished from another source should be acknowledged and permission obtained from the authors or publication.

Supplementary tables can be included when data are either too extensive or ancillary to the discussion in the text but provide needed or useful context. Such tables should be cited in the text and noted that they are included in the supplements for the article. Include such tables as part of the manuscript submission so that they can be read by the peer reviewers.

     Figures

Photographs, illustrations, clinical, radiological, and diagnostic images should be high-resolution photographic image files. Any symbols, arrows, scale markers, or text on images should contrast with the background.

Graphs should include data sets in tabular form in either Word or Excel, if possible, to be recreated in a consistent style.

Figures should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and in order of their first citation in the text. A complete sentence caption should be included for further exposition on all figures. Make sure all figures are cited in the text. All figure and captions should be included on a separate page of the manuscript.

If a figure has been published previously or is under copyright or requires a citation (such as under a Creative Commons license), the source should be cited in the figure caption and written permission for reproduction should be provided, when necessary.

     Supplements and Media

Media files and data sets should be included as supplementary material.

Additional supplements from those noted above should include statements of any conflicts of interest for all authors. Acknowledgements and any other notes of a personal or identifying nature should also be included in the supplementary materials to avoid revealing the authors’ identities to peer reviewers. If there are any previously published figures or tables, permission for reuse must be attached. When required, patient permission should also be included for all cases and any use of a patient's likeness, even for de-identified images. Please include publication approval from your facility or organization.

Revision Requirements

After a decision has been made regarding your submission, and assuming it wasn’t rejected, you should revise your work, informed by the comments from the reviewers and editor. We require you to submit your revision as a Word document with your changes tracked and major additions or changes highlighted. Once you have revised your manuscript you will go to your submission on this site and choose the “Revise Submission” link and upload the new version. Be sure to review the abstract you included earlier to ensure your revisions are reflected there. (Edits to the abstract don’t require tracked or highlighted changes, just make your edits in the revision window.)

Another requirement for the revision process is the reviewer letter. Each reviewer’s feedback should be addressed in a letter that notes how you resolved each critique or why you didn’t revise per their recommendations.

There are different ways to structure your reviewer letters, but make sure you respond to each item in the reviews. You can work from the original reviewer document and add your own notes following each action item. Make sure you use a different color of text or separate your comments in a table. When a change was made in the text, make sure to note the section, page number and line number where the change was made. The reviewer letter will speed up the re-review process and helps our reviewers.

When you submit your revised manuscript there is an option to also upload reviewer letters. Upload each reviewer letter there and the reviewers will be able to see your corrections while they read the revised manuscript. It is acceptable to create a single document with your response to all reviewer comments that can be sent to each reviewer.

If you do not provide a tracked-changes Word file and/or don’t include a reviewer letter, the editor will not send the article out for re-review and the next decision on your article will be delayed.

NOTE: Word documents with tracked changes will likely include personal information of any co-authors who edit the file. Authors should clear personal information in Word by clicking on ‘File’, then the ‘Click for Issues’ box, and then select ‘Inspect Document’. Make sure the ‘Document Properties and Personal Information’ box is checked, then click ‘Inspect’. If Word has stored any personal information, the option to ‘Remove All’ personal data will appear. Click this and then save the file. The document should now be free of personal information in the tracked changes and comments.

Publishing Workflow

     Submission Procedures

Be sure your manuscript is complete and you have collected all required supplementary materials, including disclosures and permissions. Go to the journal home page and select 'Submit'. Follow the instructions. Finally, click 'Accept' on the submission agreement.

The HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine does not charge an article process fee for accepted manuscripts. To contact the editorial office, email HCA.GMEJournal@HCAhealthcare.com.

Please make sure your article or work has been given publication clearance by your facility or organization prior to submission to the journal.

     Editorial and Peer Review

All submissions will be initially checked by the editorial team for completeness and to ensure the content and quality of the submission are in line with the journal’s mission and scope. Submissions may be rejected at this point or returned with the option to resubmit with changes or additions.

Articles approved for review will be read and commented upon by at least two peer reviewers under a double-blind procedure. The reviewers will not know the identity of the author(s) and the author(s) will not know the identity of the reviewers.

There are 5 results of the submission procedures: accept, accept with minor revisions, minor revisions required, major revisions required, or reject.

     After Revisions/Acceptance

After your article is accepted, you will need to make any changes suggested by the reviewers or document why you didn’t take their advice. If the changes are substantive, it is possible the editor will request an additional round of reviews. The Editor-in-Chief and/or one of the Clinical Co-Editors will make the final determination on whether your article is published.

If your submission is rejected, it can only be resubmitted with approval from the Editor-in-Chief or Clinical Co-Editors. See the Policies page for how to appeal a decision.

Journal Metrics

     Time to First Decision

          110 days

     Acceptance Rate

          25%

     Time from Submission to Publication

          274 days

Note: Journal metrics are calculated on a revolving basis every 6 months. All submissions in a 12-month period (ending 6 months before the calculation date) are used to calculate the metrics. Acceptance rate counts articles still in revision as of the calculation date as not accepted. Time to publication only includes articles submitted and published during the 12-month period.

Call for Papers

Transforming Healthcare Safety and Quality in the Digital Era

Special Issue of the HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Submission Deadline May 31, 2027

Background

Healthcare is entering a new era of digitally enabled transformation. Advances in artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, clinical decision support, virtual care, automation, interoperability, and data-driven operations are reshaping how healthcare organizations deliver safe, high-quality, equitable, and efficient care.

Meaningful improvements in safety and quality often depend not only on technological advancement, but also on successful implementation, operational integration, workforce adoption, and sustained organizational learning. As healthcare systems navigate rapid digital change, opportunities exist to redesign care delivery, strengthen reliability, improve workforce experience, and enhance patient outcomes across diverse care settings.

At the same time, digital transformation introduces important challenges related to governance, cybersecurity, equity, usability, clinician burden, implementation complexity, and unintended consequences. Understanding how healthcare organizations successfully operationalize and sustain digital innovation is essential to achieving measurable and lasting improvements in healthcare delivery.

This special issue of the HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine seeks to highlight practical, evidence-informed approaches to transforming healthcare safety and quality in the digital era. We welcome submissions from clinicians, operational leaders, educators, researchers, informaticists, engineers, and interdisciplinary teams exploring how digital innovation can improve healthcare delivery and outcomes in real-world settings.

Submissions from authors across academic institutions, community health systems, integrated delivery networks, operational leadership teams, and interdisciplinary collaborations are encouraged. .

Themes of Interest

Potential topics for consideration include, but are not limited to, the following::

Digital Innovation to Improve Safety and Quality

  • AI-enabled patient safety initiatives
  • Predictive analytics and early warning systems
  • Clinical decision support tools and measurable outcomes
  • Technology-enabled harm prevention strategies
  • Automation of quality surveillance and reporting
  • Smart technologies designed to reduce preventable harm
  • Evaluation of unintended consequences associated with digital transformation initiatives

Transforming Clinical Operations and Care Delivery

  • Workflow redesign through digital tools
  • Virtual nursing and digitally enabled workforce models
  • Remote monitoring and hospital-at-home programs
  • Operational command centers and capacity management technologies
  • Digital approaches to improving care coordination and patient flow
  • Enterprise strategies for scaling digital transformation initiatives
  • Human-centered implementation strategies for digital transformation

Human Factors, Workforce, and Organizational Change

  • Human-centered design and usability
  • Clinician experience and cognitive burden
  • Change management and implementation science
  • Leadership strategies supporting digital transformation
  • Workforce training and digital competency development
  • Building organizational cultures that support innovation adoption

Data, Analytics, and Learning Health Systems

  • Learning health systems and continuous improvement
  • Real-time analytics and performance improvement infrastructure
  • Digital dashboards and operational decision support
  • Measuring outcomes and return on investment for digital initiatives
  • Translating analytics into operational improvement

Equity, Ethics, Governance, and Trust

  • Equity implications of digital transformation
  • Governance frameworks for AI and digital innovation
  • Bias mitigation and responsible AI implementation
  • Cybersecurity, privacy, and patient trust
  • Ethical considerations in digitally enabled care delivery

Education and the Future Healthcare Workforce

  • Digital transformation in healthcare education
  • AI-assisted teaching and learning
  • Simulation, virtual reality, and digital training tools
  • Preparing clinicians for digitally enabled care environments
  • Innovation in informatics and digital literacy education

Submissions

We particularly encourage submissions describing operationally scalable solutions, enterprise implementation strategies, multidisciplinary collaboration, and measurable impacts on patient outcomes, workforce experience, reliability, or healthcare delivery performance.

Submissions may include original research, quality improvement initiatives, implementation science studies, operational innovation reports, systematic reviews, educational innovations, and case studies. The deadline for submission to the special issue is May 31, 2027.

Please note in your cover letter that your submission is intended for consideration for inclusion in this special issue. Submissions must be made via the journal submission portal.

Before submitting, please consult the Author Guidelines to ensure your submission meets the journal’s standards for the selected article types. The HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine charges no author processing fees for accepted manuscripts. Questions and pre-submission inquiries can be sent to the managing editor, Graig Donini, at Graig.Donini@HCAhealthcare.com.

Peer Review

All manuscripts submitted for the special issue will undergo thorough peer review by at least two reviewers with subject matter expertise. The submission, review, and acceptance workflow will be managed through the journal’s online portal.

Manuscripts will be evaluated based on the journal’s standard criteria for relevance and quality, as well as their alignment with the themes outlined in this call for papers.

If you would like to be a reviewer, please contact the managing editor, Graig Donini, at Graig.Donini@HCAhealthcare.com.