Manuscript Submission

Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine (CCJM) is an indexed, peer-reviewed journal published monthly

by Cleveland Clinic. CCJM welcomes submissions of content that is consistent with our mission to
 meet the continuing medical education needs of general internists, cardiologists, and other medical
subspecialists

 provide practical information on new developments in the diagnosis and treatment of patients
encountered in daily practice

 address topics of interest to practicing internists.

CCJM is part of the Cleveland Clinic program of medical education. Continuing medical education
(CME) credits and maintenance of certification points are offered for several articles in each issue.

Carefully review and conformity with the information about general requirements, manuscript

preparation, and article types is advised for favorable consideration.

General Requirements
Before considering submission

 Please contact CCJM editorial staff to make sure the topic fits the Journal's mission, and to make sure
that a similar article is not already under consideration.
 CCJM does not accept original research or standard case reports. See acceptable article types.

Submission and peer-review software

Submission of manuscripts, peer review, and author revisions are done using CCJM's online
submission and peer-review system, Editorial Manager. See Authors & Reviewers for more
information.

Authorship

All authors listed on the manuscript must have contributed substantially to the paper according to
the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors authorship criteria.
In general, all authors of the manuscript must contribute to the conception or design, or the
acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; drafting or revising for intellectual content; approval for
publication; and accountability for all aspects of the paper.

Authorship by Residents and Fellows

Medical students, residents, and fellows may submit articles and may be listed as first author.
However, CCJM policy requires that a senior physician mentor the junior author and be listed as a
co-author.

Pharmaceutical and Medical Education Companies Authors

CCJM does not accept articles written by authors who are employed by pharmaceutical companies,
or papers prepared by medical education companies whose work is funded by pharmaceutical
companies.

Policy on pharmaceutical and medical education company preparation of manuscripts

Avoiding Perception of Bias

Authors are asked to ensure that articles are not biased, are fair and balanced, and are based on the
best available evidence. Adhere to the following guidelines is requested:

 There should not be bias toward any product, procedure, device, or therapy.

 All applicable products, devices, or therapies should be addressed in your article to ensure fairness and
balance.

 Classes of drugs and devices should be used rather than individual agents where appropriate.

 When applicable, discussion of cost considerations should be included.

Opinions can be offered, but should be clearly defined (and referenced) as to whether they are
based on clinical experience or published evidence.

Discussion of Off-Label Use or Investigational Products

Discussion of unlabeled use of a commercial product or an investigational use not yet approved by
the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must include a disclosure that the product is not labeled
for the use under discussion or that the product is investigational and not yet approved by the FDA.

Avoiding Plagiarism

To ensure the integrity and originality of the content of submitted manuscripts, CCJM uses software
to detect plagiarism, including cutting-and-pasting and self-plagiarism. Authors should provide full
attribution for any information borrowed from other sources. For additional guidance, view Avoiding
Plagiarism.

Peer Review

All manuscripts undergo peer review, usually by 3 reviewers, including at least 1 content expert and
1 general internist. Manuscripts are reviewed for content, perception of bias, and educational impact
on our readership. Authors are usually notified within 8 weeks about the acceptability of a
manuscript, but longer intervals are sometimes unavoidable.

Editing and Galley Proofs

All papers accepted for publication will be edited to conform to CCJM's editorial style. Authors are
responsible for all statements made in their work, including any changes made by CCJM editors.

Copyright and Financial Disclosure

Copyright ownership transfer to CCJM must be complete prior to publication. All authors must
complete a financial disclosure. These forms will be requested of authors at appropriate time.

Manuscript Preparation
General

 Manuscripts must be double spaced in 12-point type, preferably in Microsoft Word.

 Include all authors, their institutional affiliations, academic titles, and contact information on the title
page.

 Follow the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals

(http://www.icmje.org).

References

 Limit references to 40, unless indicated otherwise for specific article types. Avoid references to
textbooks.

 Number the references in the reference list in the order cited in the text.

 Abbreviate journal titles according to Index Medicus/NLM

 For references with 6 or fewer authors, list all 6 authors; for references with 7 or more authors, list the
first 3 authors, then "et al."

 Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references.

Tables and Figures

 Submit tables, figures, and illustrations as separate files. Do not include tables, figures, and
illustrations within the article.

 Acceptable files formats including PDF, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator,
Microsoft PowerPoint.

 Submitted material must be clear and easy to read.

 Drawings, graphs, and charts should be professionally rendered.

 Where photographs of patients are included, consent to publish the photograph, signed by the patient,
must accompany the manuscript.

 Indicate whether the table or figure is original or based on another source. If it is based on another
source, please include the complete reference citation.
  Tables or figures previously published: If a table or figure has been published elsewhere, provide a
permission letter (for both print and electronic publication) from the publisher, even if it is from the
author's own work.

Illustrations

If needed, medical illustrations can be created by staff of the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Medical
Art and Photography. Sketches and suggestions can be submitted in a variety of formats. Once an
article is accepted, CCJM editors will work with the authors to develop and refine illustrations.

Digital and Photographic Images

These instructions apply to patient photographs, photomicrographs, electron micrographs,

radiographic images, MRIs, PET images, and ECG and EEG tracings.

Please note that patient images in which the patient can be identified must be accompanied by a signed
release from the patient allowing for print and electronic reproduction of his or her image.
Format (preferred): TIFF, Adobe Photoshop, JPEG (use only the maximum-quality compression
setting). PDF is acceptable; word processing, GIF, and web images are unacceptable.
Resolution: 300 dpi for color or grayscale. Low resolution files may be used at submission for
position only, but high resolution images must be submitted once the paper is accepted.
Color modes: CMYK for print, RGB for digital, or grayscale (for black-and-white images).
Images with arrows or other labeling: Submit the labeled image initially. However, after the article is
accepted, you will need to submit 2 electronic originals: 1 with appropriate labeling and arrows
identifying structures and an indication of the top of the image; and 1 clean copy of the image
without labels and arrows.

Article Types Requirements

CCJM features several types of article formats. A brief description for each type is provided below
with a link to detailed requirements.

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