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| Notes for authors |
The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacy publishes a number of article types covering all aspects of clinical pharmacy. It considers articles on the understanding that they are solely the work of the author(s) stated and have not been submitted or published elsewhere.
The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacy aims to conform with the uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals, issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Please see www.icmje.org for more information.
How to submit a manuscript Manuscripts should be written as succinctly as possible and should be This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to a member of the editorial team as a word document. Any accompanying images should be sent as high resolution files (jpeg or tiff) and the raw data for any accompanying graphs should be provided to allow them to be re-drawn. All manuscripts are treated as confidential.
Manuscripts should be accompanied by a cover letter that contains the names, addresses, job titles and affiliations of all authors, plus an e-mail address for the corresponding author. Any conflicts of interest should be declared on a standard form, which is available at http://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf. This should be submitted along with the manuscript. Conflicts of interest will be kept on record by The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and may be included in articles if deemed necessary by the editorial team. Authors can include additional information that may be helpful to the editor in the cover letter, such as the section of the journal for which they would like the manuscript to be considered (see below) for additional information about manuscript preparation.
Submissions will be peer-reviewed where necessary and manuscripts may be edited to improve accuracy and clarity, and may be shortened. The peer review process is confidential and neither the names of the reviewer(s) nor the author(s) will be disclosed to either party. We aim for a short turn-around time during peer review and ask all reviewers to respond to requests for review within 10 working days. Similarly, we ask authors to make any necessary amendments within 10 working days of notification.
Following acceptance and editing, the corresponding author will be sent a draft copy of their article. At this stage the corresponding author should check the document and inform us of any inaccuracies.
Informed consent
Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients’ names, initials or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published.
Non-essential identifying details should be omitted. Informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt that anonymity can be maintained. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, authors should provide assurance that such alterations do not distort scientific meaning.
Human and animal rights
When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008 (5). If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should be asked to indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.
Manuscript preparation
BJ Clin Pharm contains a number of sections. For a complete list, please visit our article archive. If you have a suggestion for a new section, please contact a member of the editorial team.
Research papers
Original research papers can cover all aspects of clinical pharmacy, or topics of interest to clinical pharmacists, including pharmacology, therapeutics and pharmacoeconomics. Papers will be reviewed by one or more independent experts in the subject field and authors may be required to revise their work as advised. Papers should not have been published in full or submitted elsewhere. We encourage authors to prepare manuscripts in line with the International Committee of Medical Editors’ uniform requirements. A copy of the requirements can be found here. Research papers should not normally exceed 3,000 words and should follow the following format:
Abstract: Up to 200 words. The abstract should provide a concise summary of the study, including background, aims, basic method, key findings and main conclusions.
Introduction: This should provide background information relevant to the study and the objectives of the study should be clearly stated.
Methods: Methods should be described in sufficient detail to allow others to reproduce the results. The inclusion/exclusion criteria for participant selection should also be included. Statistical methods should be stated.
Results: Present results in a logical format, display data in tables or figures if appropriate.
Discussion: Discuss the findings of the study in relation to other relevant studies and emphasise new or important findings. Discuss the limitations and implications of the study.
Conclusions: Link the conclusions with the objectives of the study.
References: A maximum of 20 references should be included. See reference section below.
Acknowledgements: The source(s) of funding for the work should be listed in this section, if appropriate. Assistance with study design, data collection and data analysis can also be declared here.
Sharing practice
This section is designed to highlight and share work being undertaken in trusts across the UK, in order to encourage networking and collaboration. These articles can describe new service developments or projects, at any stage of implementation. When writing, you may find it useful to consider what is new about the service, the benefits and risks of the service and the next steps in its development/implementation. These articles should not normally exceed 1,700 words. Up to five references can be included.
Short report
This section is designed to highlight and share results from research or audits that have been undertaken in trusts across the UK. These articles may present preliminary findings or the results of small studies that do not meet the criteria for a research paper. The format of these articles should follow that of a research article (see above). These articles should not normally exceed 2,000 words. Up to 10 references can be included.
Clinical update
These articles outline new drugs, guidelines or policies, and describe their impact on clinical practice. These articles should not normally exceed 2,000 words. Up to 10 references can be included.
On the horizon
These articles describe new drugs that are not yet licensed in the UK. They provide a background to the drug and disease area, as well as key efficacy and safety data from clinical trials of the drug. These articles should not normally exceed 2,000 words. Up to 10 references can be included.
Therapeutics
Therapeutics articles provide a background to a specific therapeutic area and give information about current management in that area, as well as highlighting any new therapies that may be in the pipeline. These articles should not normally exceed 2,500 words. Up to 20 references can be included.
Review
Review articles provide an overview of a therapy area and the treatments used in that area, or of a specific service relevant to clinical pharmacy practice. These articles should include an abstract of up to 200 words. The abstract should provide a concise summary of the review, key findings and main conclusions. These articles should not normally exceed 3,000 words. Up to 20 references can be included.
Case studies
Clinical case studies should highlight interesting patient cases, unexpected outcomes or situations in which a pharmacist has made a particularly interesting or innovative contribution to patient care. These articles should not normally exceed 2,500 words. Up to 15 references can be included.
Opinion
Opinion articles should comment on topical issues related to clinical pharmacy. Please provide a high resolution image of yourself with your submission (jpeg or tiff). These articles should not normally exceed 1,700 words. Please contact a member of the editorial team for more information.
Commentary
Commentary articles provide an insight into the results of an important study or published paper relevant to clinical pharmacy practice. These articles should not normally exceed 1,700 words. Please contact a member of the editorial team for more information.
Head-to-head
These are debate-style articles in which two individuals present contrasting views on topical or controversial issues. Please contact a member of the editorial team for advice on the presentation of your argument, or if you require any help finding an adversary.
Letters to the editor
We welcome letters about any issues affecting clinical pharmacy or commenting on any articles published in The British Journal of Clinical Pharmacy. Letters may be sent to a third party so that a response may be published in the same issue. Letters should be 500 words maximum and may be abridged for clarity.
Reference style
The list of references should only include works that that have been published or accepted for publication. Papers that have been submitted for publication but have not yet been accepted should only be mentioned in the text and should state ‘submitted for publication’. Citations in the text should be identified by superscript numbers, inserted in the order that they appear. Citations in tables or figures should be numbered from the point when the table or figure is mentioned in the text.The list of references at the end of the paper should be presented in numerical order. Journal titles should be abbreviated according to NLM title abbreviations.
References should be styled as follows:
Six or fewer authors: Williams S, Jones S, Hodson K. Evaluating the impact of a pharmacy medicines reconciliation service at an orthopaedic pre-admission clinic. BJ Clin Pharm 2011:3:23–6.
More than six authors: Kwan Y, Fernandes O, Nagge J, Wong G, Huh J, Hurn D et al. Pharmacist medication assessments in a surgical preadmission clinic. Arch Intern Med 2007;167:1034–40.
Volume with supplement: Balestreri L, Grossberg A, Grossberg GT. Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia as a risk factor for nursing home placement. Int Psychogeriatr 2000;12(Suppl 1):59–62.
Article published online ahead of print: Salles G, Seymour JF, Offner F, López-Guillermo A, Belada D, Xerri L et al. Rituximab maintenance for 2 years in patients with high tumour burden follicular lymphoma responding to rituximab plus chemotherapy (PRIMA): a phase 3, randomised controlled trial. Lancet (early online publication 21 December 2010).
Books: Taylor D, Paton C, Kerwin R. The Maudsley prescribing guidelines. 9th ed. London;Informa:2007.
Chapter in book: Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York:McGraw-Hill;2002.p93–113.
Organisation as author: Department of Health. Equity and excellence: liberating the NHS. London;DH:2010.
Online-only articles: Benzer T. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome — an overview. Available at www.emedicine.medscape.com (accessed 30 May 2009).
If you have any questions regarding the preparation or submission of articles, please contact the acting editor, Shona Kirk (e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , telephone 0121 633 4691 ext 230 or 07941 336 399).
To download these notes in pdf format click here.