Author Guidelines

A checklist is available to facilitate manuscript preparation. Authors may also wish to peruse the Manuscript Central/ScholarOne Manuscripts Author Support center. See also:

Author Information    |     About The Permanente Journal     |     Journal Policies
Ethical Considerations

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Article Types

Original Research Articles

Present scientific research reports of original, empirically based research—with results and analysis—of great clinical importance. These include: Randomized trials, intervention studies, outcomes research, case-control studies, observational studies, highly significant surveys, advanced quality improvement studies (guidelines and resources for quality improvement articles are available from SQUIRE at: http://squire-statement.org/), and rigorous evaluations of clinical best practices in large populations. Limit of 5000 words, 5 tables, 5 figures; structured abstract required.

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Brief Reports

Similar to original research articles, brief reports present a short overview of new studies of original research, including clinical research, in a more condensed format. Brief reports may include preliminary results from ongoing investigations and null results, and may also be suitable for adding new findings to previously published results. Limit of 2000 words, 3 tables, 3 figures; structured abstract required. Maximum of 20 references.

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Review Articles

Collect relevant, evidence-based reviews of clinical practice topics written for the general physician, though articles on specialty practice are encouraged to inform both generalists and specialists. These articles should include the most important recent references in the field. Limit of 5000 words, up to 40 references; unstructured abstract required.

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Point-Counterpoint Articles

The Permanente Journal is open to receiving Point-Counterpoint articles on an invitation basis only. Point-Counterpoint articles present two (or more) opposing viewpoints, and can be authored by two or more coauthors, on a controversial or multifaceted topic. These articles should help readers understand the nuances of an ethical dilemma, appreciate the pros and cons of a system-wide change, or experience diverse interpretations of newsworthy topics. Points and counterpoints are published together in the same article under the same DOI.

Point-Counterpoint articles should be collegial in tone, presenting well-developed points of view and well-contemplated author commentary that is professional and academic in its approach. Authors will find it useful to begin their Point-Counterpoint by determining a suitable question to explore. Limit of 4000 words, 2 tables, 2 figures; unstructured abstract required. Maximum of 30 references.

At this time, the Editor is most interested in considering Point-Counterpoint articles focusing on the following topics/questions:

• Is fee-for-service really viable?
• Does the expansion of telehealth provide the best possible care?
• Addressing the physician shortage: What’s working? What isn’t?
• Federally Qualified Health Centers: Are they the health care delivery system of the future?

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Case Reports and Series of Cases

The Permanente Journal believes case reports/case series serve an important educational purpose, and although few are accepted, the journal welcomes cases in the following categories:

• Didactic Case Reports/Series of Cases: Didactic case reports create a learning experience with clinical reasoning and algorithms, elucidate differential diagnoses, and outline workup toward a diagnosis and treatment plan. Didactic cases do not need to focus on a rare condition. When appropriate, please include a section to demonstrate how a team-based approach was used. Please use the didactic cases template when preparing your submission.
• Evidence-Based Case Reports/Series of Cases: Evidence-based case reports may be used in instances where clinical decision-making is not pertinent or possible, and may be more appropriate with rare cases or new diseases/conditions. The journal will consider evidence-based case reports that demonstrate practice change, quality of care, or a team-based approach to treatment. Please use the evidence-based cases template when preparing your submission.

Case reports may cover 1 to 3 patients. Case series may cover 3 to 10 patients. All case submissions must adhere to CARE Guidelines. Limit of 2000 words, 3 tables or figures combined, and 20 references. An unstructured abstract is required. Please follow the appropriate template provided in drafting the initial case submission. Case submissions not adhering to template will be automatically desk rejected.

CARE references:

1. Gagnier JJ, Kienle G, Altman DG, Moher D, Sox H, Riley DS. The CARE guidelines: consensus-based clinical case reporting guideline development. JClinEpi 2014 Jan;46e51. doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2013.08.003.

Riley DS, Barber MS, Kienle GS, Aronson JK, von Schoen-Angerer T, et al. CARE 2013 Explanation and Elaborations: Reporting Guidelines for Case Reports. JClinEpi 2017 Sep;89:218-235. doi: 10.1016/jclinepi.2017.04.026.

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Commentaries

The Permanente Journal welcomes commentaries on an invitation-only basis. Authors are encouraged to send a pre-submission inquiry with a description of their commentary to the Editor. Present a point of view of general interest about a currently relevant topic; comment on a published article touching on an important subject; highlight a significant contribution that has the potential to change the field; or to discuss a debate or conflicting data or findings. The text is limited to 2000 words with no more than 20 references. No abstract is required.

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Letters to the Editor

Authors are invited to present opinions in response to articles already published in TPJ. Letters to the Editor should comment on a subject of importance and interest to the broader readership. The Letter may be sent to the author(s) of the originally published article and possibly to other interested parties for a response to be published in the journal as part of the Letter. Please note that the journal will not consider Letters to the Editor regarding content that was published more than 3 months prior. Correspondence concerning articles that have not been published in TPJ will not be considered. Limit of 500 words and a maximum of 5 references, the first of which must be the citation for the original article under discussion. Letters may contain figures or tables only if they show data that refute the conclusions of the originating article. Figures or tables showing unpublished data in support of the conclusions of the originating article will not be considered. No abstract is required.

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Editorials

Editorials are generally written by or solicited by the Editor-in-Chief and are related to an article published in TPJ. Limit of 1000 words with no more than 10 references. No abstract is required.

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Cover Letter and Title Page

Manuscripts submitted to The Permanente Journal require the following:

• Cover Letter: provide a concise statement of the authors’ view of the importance and uniqueness of the article. Let us know if the article has been submitted to or is under consideration for publication by another journal.
• Title page: should include the following and MUST be the first page of your manuscript file (not submitted as a separate page)
  • Title of submission
  • All authors’ full names
    • Any change in authorship after submission requires confirmation from all co-authors, including those being added or removed.
  • Author degrees
  • An affiliation for each author
  • Corresponding author email address
  • Author contributions: Authors should declare and identify whether or not they were assisted in study design, data collection, data analysis, or manuscript preparation. Those whose contributions were significant enough to qualify as co-authors should be listed as such. Those who do not qualify to be listed as co-authors should be listed under an appropriate heading (i.e., clinical investigators or participating investigators), and their function or contribution should be described. Those making contributions who do not qualify as authorship should be listed in an "Acknowledgments" section.
    • Example: John Smith, MD, MP, FACP, participated in the critical review, drafting, and submission of the final manuscript. Susy Jones, MD, and Tom Lee, EdD, participated in the study design, acquisition and analysis of data, and drafting of the final manuscript. Peter White, EdD, participated in acquisition and analysis of data, and drafting of the final manuscript. All authors have given final approval to the manuscript.
    • The Permanente Journal follows ICMJE’s authorship criteria. As such, artificial intelligence applications, including text-generative chatbots, cannot be named as authors for any submission. Authors must be able to take responsibility and stand accountable for their work, including defending it in public as needed.  
  • Conflict of interest statement: each author should declare any potentially perceived conflicts of interests. Otherwise, a statement should be provided that “no conflicts of interest exist.”
  • Funding statement: list all funding, sponsors, and other financial contributions. Any funding sources should be listed, or “none” should be stated.
    • Example: Dr. Wu has received research funding from AbbVie Inc, North Chicago, IL; Amgen Inc, Thousand Oaks, CA; and Pfizer Inc, New York, NY.
    • As applicable, authors should disclose financial and material support from study sponsor(s) including: study design; data collection, analysis, and interpretation; writing of the report; and the decision to submit for publication.
  • Number of tables and figures
  • Word count (see limits in article type descriptions above)
  • Keywords: provide 3-7

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Manuscript Formatting

Manuscripts should be prepared in Microsoft Word, double-spaced, with margins of at least 1 inch.

• Abstract (limit: 250 words): a summary of the paper’s most significant aspects
  • Original articles should include a structured abstract with these headings:
    • Introduction (Background and Objectives)
    • Methods (Design and Main Outcome Measures)
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion
  • Review articles require an abstract, but it does not have to be structured.
  • See specific requirements for Case Reports below.
  • Commentaries, Letters, and Editorials do not require an abstract.
• The manuscript body should follow. It should be separated into sections according to those included in the abstract (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion), as applicable.
• Figures and tables must be numbered and cited in order in the text using Arabic numerals.
  • Tables are acceptable in the following formats: Microsoft Word (.doc or .rtf) or Excel (.xls). They can be part of the manuscript document (if in Word, for example) or submitted as separate files.
  • Figures should be submitted separately (not embedded in document) and are acceptable in the following formats: Excel (.xls), Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), PowerPoint (.ppt), Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg), Encapsulated PostScript (.eps).
    • Types of figure files: data sets, line art, gray-scale images, and combination artwork
    • Files should be submitted at a minimum of 300 dpi.
    • All figures require a figure legend which should be included at the end of the manuscript document.
    • Abbreviations used in tables and figures must be defined in footnotes.
  • Manuscript footnotes should be cited in the text in alphabetic order as cited and listed at the end of the text before the reference list. Do not use EndNotes for footnotes.
  • References must be numbered with Arabic numerals and cited in the text in numeric order. The reference list at the end of the article must also be in numeric order (do not list references in alphabetical order).
    
    

Do NOT use the Microsoft Word "Footnote/EndNote function” or other EndNote programs for references. Citations must be listed in the manuscript text as: (1), (2), etc.

• Abbreviations for the title of medical periodicals should conform to those used in the latest edition of Index Medicus/NLM. If available, DOIs should be included with the reference. If the manuscript is selected for publication, the author will be expected to submit documentation for any reference material that cannot be verified online.
• Examples of references:
  
  • Journal article, one to six authors, with and without DOI:
    
    • Beutler E. The effect of methemoglobin formation on sickle cell disease. J Clin Invest 1961;40(10):1856-58. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1172.JCI104410.
    • Halpern SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIVinfected patients. N Engl J Med 2002 Jul 25;347(4):284-7.
      
      
  • Journal article, more than six authors
    • Golomb HM, Vardiman J, Sweet DL Jr, et al. Hairy cell leukemia: Evidence for the existence of a spectrum of functional characteristics. Br J Haematol 1978;38(2):161- 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2141.1978.tb01032.x.
      
      
  • Journal article in press
    • O’Malley JE, Eisenberg L. The hyperkinetic syndrome. Semin Psychiatry (in press)
    • Note: A copy of the manuscript must be included.
      
      
  • Complete book
    • Lillie RD. Histopathologic Technique and Practical Histochemistry (ed 3). New York, NY: McGraw Hill: 1965.
      
      
  • Chapter of book
    • Moore G, Minowada J. Human hemopoietic cell lines: A progress report. In: Farnes P. Hemic Cells in Vitro, Vol 4. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins; 1969. 100-5.
      
      
  • Web content citations vary somewhat according to the content (monograph, journal article, etc). Please include as much information as possible. The URL must be included.
    
    
• Additional documentation as required (see the “For Consideration” list on the Author page)

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Formatting Supplementary Material

Authors of accepted manuscripts containing accompanying supplementary materials will be asked to template their materials. Tables, figures, and text designated as supplementary should be templated using an approved design template, which will be requested from you after acceptance but prior to copyediting.

Portrait version template    |     Landscape version template