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BMC Health Services Research

BMC Health Services Research is an open access peer reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of health services research, with a special focus on digital health, governance, health policy, health system quality and safety, healthcare delivery and access to healthcare, healthcare financing and economics, implementing reform, and the health workforce. The journal welcomes research emphasizing integrated approaches to health systems and cross-sector collaborations and is affiliated with Health Systems Global.

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Subject Health Care Sciences & Services
Impact Factor 3
Quartile Q2
Open Access Type Open
eISSN 1472-6963
Invitation Only No
Cost Range £2590.00 GBP / $3450.00 USD / €3050.00 EUR APC; subject to VAT or local taxes where applicable.

Submission Instructions

BMC Health Services Research accepts the following article types. Click on an article type to view submission instructions.

Research Article

Cover Letter A cover letter is required. Cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Health Services Research, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved the submission, and confirm the content has not been published or submitted elsewhere.
Abstract An abstract is required. Abstract must not exceed 350 words. Abstract must be structured. Abstract must include the headings Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions, and Trial registration.
Manuscript Manuscript must include a title page, structured sections including Methods and Results, and a Declarations section with all required subheadings. Manuscript must include three to ten keywords, define abbreviations at first use with a list of abbreviations if used, document any Large Language Model use in Methods or another suitable section, and include Declarations subsections with 'Not applicable' where a subsection is irrelevant.
References References must follow Vancouver reference style. Only published or in-press articles, clinical trial registration records, abstracts, and publicly available preprints may be cited, unpublished abstracts/data/personal communications must be excluded from the reference list, web links must appear as full references, and publicly available datasets supporting the conclusions should be cited with a persistent identifier such as a DOI.
Figures & Tables Figure titles and legends must be provided in the main manuscript while figures are uploaded separately, tables shorter than one page may be placed within the manuscript, and longer tables may be placed at the end of the document. Figures and tables must be numbered in the order cited, multi-panel figures must be submitted as a single composite file, tables must not be embedded as figures or spreadsheet files, and figure legends and table legends must not exceed 300 words.
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Review

Cover Letter Cover letter is required. Cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Health Services Research, address any journal policy issues, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved the submission, and confirm the content has not been published or submitted elsewhere.
Abstract Abstract is required. Abstract must not exceed 350 words. Abstract structure is not specified.
Manuscript Manuscript must include a Background section, a Main text section, a Conclusions section, and a Declarations section with the required subheadings. Manuscript must include three to ten keywords, an Availability of data and materials statement, a Competing interests section, Funding, Authors' contributions, Acknowledgements, a list of abbreviations if abbreviations are used, and documentation of any Large Language Model use in the Methods or another suitable section.
References References must follow Vancouver reference style. Web links and URLs must be assigned a reference number and included in the reference list in full, unpublished abstracts, unpublished data, and personal communications must not appear in the reference list, and publicly available datasets supporting the conclusions must be cited in the manuscript with a persistent identifier such as a DOI.
Figures & Tables Figure titles and legends must be provided in the main manuscript rather than in the graphic file, tables shorter than one page can be placed within the manuscript, and tables longer than one page can be placed at the end of the document. Figures must be numbered in text order and multipanel figures submitted as a single composite file, while tables must be numbered in sequence, created using the table function rather than as figures or spreadsheet files, and table footnotes should use superscript lower-case letters or asterisks.
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Systematic Review

Cover Letter Cover letter is required. Cover letter must explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Health Services Research, note any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm all authors approved the submission, and confirm the manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere.
Abstract Abstract is required. Abstract must not exceed 350 words. Abstract must be structured. Abstract must include the headings Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
Manuscript Manuscript must include Background, Main text, Conclusions, and a Declarations section with the subheadings Ethics approval and consent to participate, Consent for publication, Availability of data and materials, Competing interests, Funding, Authors' contributions, and Acknowledgements. Manuscript must include three to ten keywords, a list of abbreviations if abbreviations are used, an additional file reproducing all search strategy details linked from the Methods section, and documentation of any Large Language Model use in the Methods section or a suitable alternative part of the manuscript.
References References must follow Vancouver reference style. Web links and URLs must be cited with a reference number and included in the reference list in full with the site title, URL, and access date.
Figures & Tables Tables less than one page may be placed within the manuscript, tables larger than one page may be placed at the end of the document, and figure titles and legends must be provided in the main manuscript rather than in the graphic file. Figures and tables must be numbered in the order first cited in the text, and tables must not be embedded as figures or spreadsheet files.
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Recent Publications

Continuing professional development to strengthen stroke rehabilitation: learning outcomes from Myanmar

Shala Cunningham, Martina Lukin, Hsu Wai Mon Oo, Rachael Lowe, Daniel Miner, Abdulgafoor M. Bachani

10.1186/s12913-026-14917-0
View Publication

Impact of professional type on job satisfaction and job burnout among physicians in oncology-specialty hospital: the mediating and moderating roles of perceived organizational support and career adaptability

Nan Xie, Wang Guan, Yuehong Tang, Haiyan Guo, Bingli Zuo, Yujing Li, Xiao Wang

10.1186/s12913-026-14813-7
View Publication

Back on track: a case study on sustaining and reducing stroke treatment times in a medium-sized Norwegian hospital

Are Fjermeros, Geir Vegard Berg, Jos Benders

10.1186/s12913-026-14929-w
View Publication

Stigmatism among physicians and nurses towards patients with alcohol use disorder: a systematic review

Emilie Benoni Kofod, Camilla Dahl Haislund Olsen, Kjeld Andersen, Anette Søgaard Nielsen

10.1186/s12913-026-14882-8
View Publication

Issues navigating the healthcare delivery system among caregivers of children and youth with special healthcare needs: a qualitative study

Caitlin M. Meyer, Rebecca K. Campbell, Maura R. Kelleher, Ebonie Zielinski, Molly Hofmann, Jessica D. Rothstein

10.1186/s12913-026-14931-2
View Publication

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to publish?

Submission to first decision (median): 5 days.

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Is a cover letter required?

A cover letter is required. It should explain why the manuscript should be published in BMC Health Services Research, address any issues relating to journal policies, declare any potential competing interests, confirm that all authors approved the submission, confirm that the content has not been published or submitted elsewhere, and name the special issue if applicable. Authors may also suggest preferred or non-preferred peer reviewers in the cover letter.

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What are the publication costs?

An article processing charge applies for each accepted article. The current APC is £2590.00 GBP / $3450.00 USD / €3050.00 EUR, subject to VAT or local taxes where applicable.

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Research Topics

Global Maternal and Child Health Primary Care and Health Outcomes Health Policy Implementation Science Healthcare Systems and Reforms Healthcare Policy and Management Chronic Disease Management Strategies Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes Interprofessional Education and Collaboration Patient Satisfaction in Healthcare Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life Diabetes Management and Education HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions Patient Safety and Medication Errors Mental Health and Patient Involvement Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation Emergency and Acute Care Studies Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes Mobile Health and mHealth Applications Global Health Workforce Issues Nursing education and management Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout Global Health Care Issues Medication Adherence and Compliance Electronic Health Records Systems

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