For guidelines on BMJ Journals policy and submission please click on links below.
Manuscript formatting
Editorial policies
Patient consent forms
Licence forms
Peer review process
Online First process

Open access/unlocked articles

Authors are able to make their articles freely available online, immediately on publication, for a fee, using the Unlocked service. This service is available to any author publishing original research in a BMJ Journal for a fee of £1,700(+VAT)/€2,515(+VAT)/$3,145.

Article types and word counts

• Original article
• Short report
• Review
• Editorial
• Comment/Letter to the Editor
• Conference Report
• Medication Safety Forum

Original article

Full papers must present important, substantial new material and should be of direct relevance to clinical practise or important contributions to theoretical frameworks. Original Articles should not exceed 3000 words plus references; articles that exceed this word limit may be returned for revision before peer review. Additional data may be presented as supplementary information, which will be published online only should the article be accepted (this can be in any format: text, tables, images, videos, etc.). Original Articles should be presented in sections - namely:

Abstract
No more than 250 words, summarising the problem being considered, how the study was performed, the salient results and the principal conclusions under subheadings 'Objectives', 'Methods', 'Results', and 'Conclusions'.

Key words
No more than 5. These should be given beneath the Abstract and in the box provided in the online submission process.

Introduction
Brief description of the background that led to the study (current results and conclusions should not be included).

Methods
Details relevant to the conduct of the study. Wherever possible give numbers of subjects studied (not percentages alone). Statistical methods should be clearly explained at the end of this section.

Results
Undue repetition in text and tables should be avoided. Comment on validity and significance of results is appropriate but broader discussion of their implication is restricted to the next section. Subheadings that aid clarity of presentation within this and the previous section are encouraged.

Units of Measurement: Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (metre, kilogram, or litre) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be given in millimetres of mercury. All haematological and clinical chemistry measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI). The symbol L for litre is recommended in order to avoid the risk of confusion between the letter l and the number 1.

Discussion
The nature and findings of the study are placed in context of other relevant published data. Caveats to the study should be discussed. Avoid undue extrapolation from the study topic.

Acknowledgments and affiliations
Individuals with direct involvement in the study but not included in authorship may be acknowledged. The source of financial support and industry affiliations of all those involved must be stated.

References (do not exceed 30).
Please see References (hyperlink: http://group.bmj.com/products/journals/instructions-for-authors/formatting/) for further style guidance.

Figure legends Maximum 6 tables and/or figures. Colour figures will not incur a charge.
Please see Illustrations and tables (hyperlink: http://group.bmj.com/products/journals/instructions-for-authors/formatting/) for further style guidance.

Abbreviations and symbols
Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.

Short report

The format is identical to that of an Original Article (see above) and should include an Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion
Word count: up to 1500 words.
Abstract: up to 150 words.
Tables/illustrations: Maximum 1 table and/or figure.
References: up to 15.

Review

Reviews will usually be solicited by the Editor and will undergo peer review. Authors wishing to submit a review should seek the advice of the Science info.ejhp{at}bmjgroup.com in advance.

Word count: up to 3000 words
Illustrations/Tables: maximum of 6
References: in the region of 50

Preface your review with an abstract of no more than 250 words (additional to the 3,000 words of the main body of the text).

Editorial

The aim of an Editorial is to stimulate thought (often with more questions than answers) rather than review the subject exhaustively. Editorials are usually linked to one or more articles published in the same issue. Personal opinion and comment are perfectly legitimate since the Editorial is not anonymous, though of course such opinion needs to be reasonable and backed up by appropriate evidence.

Word count: up to 1200-1500 words.
Illustrations/Tables: Maximum 2 tables and/or figures.
References: up to 30.

Comment/Letter to the Editor

The objective of the Comment article is to provide a platform for discussion and dialogue between readers and EJHP. Readers are encouraged to submit items for discussion which would be of particular interest to hospital pharmacists, as well as to submit feedback on a topic in a previous issue. This article can be in the style of a letter-to-the-editor, and can either be opinion based or can focus on the factual background of a previously published topic.

Word count: up to 500 words
Illustrations/Tables: 1
References: 5

E-Letter
Readers have the opportunity to comment directly and immediately on any article published online. E-letters should be submitted electronically via the website. Contributors should go to the abstract or full text of the article in question. At the top right corner of each article is a "contents box". Click on the "eLetters: Submit a response to this article" link.

Conference report

The objective of the Conference Report is to provide educational information derived from a scientific or professional conference relevant to the profession of hospital pharmacists. Authors are encouraged to submit educational and factual content at a high standard

Word count: up to 1500 words

Medication Safety Forum

The Medication Safety Forum aims to provide a platform from which to share new and simple measures devised within a hospital pharmacy setting which have increased patient and medication safety. This new measure may be the result of an audit, must be an original idea and easy to implement into other hospitals.
Word count: up to 1500 words
Illustrations/Tables: 1
References: 5

Supplements

The BMJ Publishing Group journals are willing to consider publishing supplements to regular issues. Supplement proposals may be made at the request of:

1. The journal editor, an editorial board member or a learned society may wish to organise a meeting, sponsorship may be sought and the proceedings published as a supplement.
2. The journal editor, editorial board member or learned society may wish to commission a supplement on a particular theme or topic. Again, sponsorship may be sought.
3. The BMJPG itself may have proposals for supplements where sponsorship may be necessary.
4. A sponsoring organisation, often a pharmaceutical company or a charitable foundation, that wishes to arrange a meeting, the proceedings of which will be published as a supplement.

In all cases, it is vital that the journal's integrity, independence and academic reputation is not compromised in any way.

For further information on criteria that must be fulfilled, download the supplements guidelines (PDF).