Peer Review Policy

Primary Care Science and Practice (PCSP) implements a rigorous Double-Blind Peer Review process to ensure the objectivity and quality of all published content. This policy applies to all submissions, including original research, reviews, and articles invited by the editors.

Anonymity: The identities of both authors and reviewers are kept strictly confidential. Reviewers do not know the authors' names or affiliations, and authors are not informed of who reviewed their manuscript. Only the Editor-in-Chief and the designated Section Editor have access to both identities to manage the process.

Reviewer Selection: Reviewers are appointed by the Editorial Board based on their specific expertise (matching MeSH terms), publication history in reputable journals, and their track record of providing constructive, timely feedback. We prioritize reviewers who are independent of the authors' institutions to avoid conflicts of interest.

Review Timeline: PCSP is committed to a timely editorial process. Once a reviewer accepts an invitation, the initial peer review report is expected within 2–4 weeks. The average time from submission to the first editorial decision is approximately 6–8 weeks.

Confidentiality: The entire review process is confidential. Review reports, editorial correspondence, and manuscript drafts are protected documents and will not be published or shared with third parties.

AI Guidelines for Reviewers: To protect intellectual property and maintain scientific integrity, reviewers must adhere to the following:

  • Strict Upload Ban: Reviewers are strictly prohibited from uploading any part of a submitted manuscript into generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini). This prevents data breaches and ensures that the authors's unpublished work remains secure.
  • Human Evaluation: While AI tools may assist in language checking,the evaluation of scientific merit, methodology, and clinical relevance must be the result of the reviewer’s own expert judgment.
  • Transparency: If AI tools are used to assist in the evaluation process (without uploading manuscript data), this must be clearly declared in the confidential comments to the Editor.