About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The AMP aims to be recognised as a Portuguese medical journal with an international impact, promoting the scientific publication of the highest quality and focused on the original research work (clinical, epidemiological, multicentric or on basic science), in addition to become a forum for the publication of guidelines and the international enhancement of the Portuguese medical research.

“Primum non nocere, primeiro a Acta Médica Portuguesa” (‘Primum non nocere, the Acta Médica Portuguesa in the first place’) is the AMP’s motto.

Peer Review Process

All research articles and virtually all other types of articles that are published in AMP undergo a peer review process. Reviewers are bound to comply with the confidentiality of the peer review process and not reveal any details of a manuscript or its review during or after the peer review process. If reviewers wish to involve a colleague in the review process, a permission from the Editor is required.

Manuscripts should be written in a clear, concise and direct style. These must not have been published, in whole or in part, or submitted for publication elsewhere.

Manuscripts are initially evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief and may be rejected at this stage, without being sent to reviewers. Final acceptance or rejection rests with the Editorin-Chief or, in the event of a conflict of interest on his part, with one of the Deputy Editors, who reserves the right to refuse any material for publication.

The AMP follows an accurate single-blind peer-review process, with experts from outside the journal donating their time on a pro bono basis.

The manuscripts received will be sent to experts in the different areas, who will make their comments, including the suggestion of acceptance, acceptance subject to minor or major revisions, or rejection.

During the evaluation, the articles may be

a) accepted for publication without any changes;

b) accepted with modifications proposed by the scientific consultants;

c) rejected.

The timeline for this process has been defined as follows:

- Upon receipt of the article, the Editor-in-Chief or one of the Deputy Editors-, will send the manuscript to at least two reviewers provided that it complies with the publication standards and fits the editorial policy. It may be rejected at this stage, without being sent to reviewers.

- When receiving the communication confirming that the article proceeded to peer review, the Declaration of Copyright and Copyright Sharing (available at (http://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/info/AMP_template-Declaracao-Responsabilidade-Autoral.doc) and the ICMJE Declarations of Conflict of Interest (available at http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/), should be immediately uploaded as supplementary files, duly filled in and signed by all the Authors.

- The reviewers should respond to the Editor within no more than four weeks with their comments on the manuscript, in addition to any suggestions regarding the acceptance or rejection of the work.

Upon receiving the reviewer’s comments, a first decision will be taken by the Editorial Board within no more than 15 days, either (i) accepting the article for publication with no modifications, (ii) sending the reviewers’ and editor’s comments to the Authors in order to proceed as indicated, or (iii) rejecting the article.

The Authors have 30 days to submit the revised version of the manuscript, complying with the modifications recommended by the experts and the Editorial Board. This version should be uploaded to the AMP’s website, under the same editorial process (i.e., keeping the same ID# as used in the submission), with the changes highlighted in a different colour, in addition to a new Supplementary Document answering all the questions raised.

- The Editor-in-Chief has 15 days to make a decision on the new version, either (i) rejecting, (ii) accepting the new version of the article or (iii) submitting it to one or more external reviewers whose opinion may or may not coincide with those resulting from the first revision.

- In the case that the manuscript is sent back for external review, the experts have two weeks to send their comments and their suggestions regarding the acceptance or rejection for publication.

- After analysis of the reviewers’ suggestions, the Editorin-Chief (i) may accept the article with this new version, (ii) reject it or (iii) request further revisions. In this event, the Authors have one month to submit a revised version, which may undergo a further review process by external experts, if the Editor-in-Chief so determines.

The editor’s final decision for acceptance-rejection of a submitted paper is based on the following criteria:

I. Originality: original subject and/or method, with valuable information and presentation of new results or confirmation of previously verified results.

II. Timeliness and/or novelty: topic that is on the agenda of scientific meetings or communications or is a new subject.

III. Relevance: applicability of the results to solve real issues in clinical practice.

IV. Innovation and relevance: advances in scientific and technical knowledge and/or in clinical practice.

V. Reliability and scientific validity: high methodological quality.

VI. Presentation: good writing and text organisation (good logical coherence and presentation of the material).

Even though the Editors and Reviewers make every effort to ensure the technical and scientific quality of the manuscripts, the final responsibility for the content (namely the accuracy of the observations as well as the opinions expressed) is the sole responsibility of the Authors.

Publication Frequency

Acta Médica Portuguese is published on the first working day each month.

The issue corresponding to July and August is a joint one, published on the first working day in July.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

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Journal History

Acta Médica Portuguesa was established in February 1979. In 1987, the journal was acquired by the Southern Regional Section of the Portuguese Medical Association. In March 1989, it became the official scientific journal of this institution. Since 2004, the journal has been available only in digital format. In the year 2020, 1625 articles were submitted through our site .