Editorial standards and best practices
The editorial and peer-review processes of Pharmacotherapy in Psychiatry and Neurology are guided by internationally recognized standards of editorial independence, fairness, confidentiality, transparency, and research integrity, including recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
Editorial decisions are based on the scientific quality, methodological rigor, originality, relevance, ethical integrity, and contribution to the field of submitted manuscripts. Decisions are made independently of authors' nationality, institutional affiliation, professional status, gender, or other characteristics unrelated to the scientific merit of the work.
Editors and reviewers are expected to identify and disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect, or reasonably be perceived as affecting, their impartiality. Editors with a relevant conflict of interest must recuse themselves from the handling of the manuscript, and responsibility will be transferred to another qualified Editor.
All manuscripts and information obtained during editorial assessment and peer review are treated as confidential. Editors and reviewers must not use unpublished information, data, ideas, or other material obtained through the review process for personal or professional advantage.
The journal is committed to selecting reviewers on the basis of appropriate scientific, methodological, and/or clinical expertise. Reviewer recommendations are advisory; responsibility for the final decision rests with the Editor.
The journal seeks to ensure that peer review is constructive, respectful, evidence-based, and free from inappropriate influence. Editors may disregard or remove reviewer comments that are unprofessional, discriminatory, irrelevant, or otherwise inconsistent with the journal's editorial standards.
The journal does not permit coercive citation practices. Requests to add references must be based on their scientific relevance to the manuscript and must not be made primarily to increase citations to particular authors, reviewers, journals, or publications.
Editors may request additional methodological, statistical, ethical, or other specialist assessment whenever this is considered necessary for an informed editorial decision.
The journal follows established publication ethics procedures when concerns regarding the integrity of a submission or the peer-review process arise. Further information is provided in the journal's Ethical Standards and Publication Ethics and Appeals, Complaints & Post-Publication Updates policies.