Procedure for handling manuscripts in the scientific journals of the Kharkiv National Medical University

This methodological article describes the internal procedures for handling authors’ manuscripts during 2021–2024 in the editorial offices of the scientific journals of Kharkiv National Medical University (KhNMU), which prepare articles for publication in the journals Medicine Today and Tomorrow (ISSN 2414-4495, 2710-1444), Experimental and Clinical Medicine (ISSN 2414-4517, 2710-1487), and Inter Collegas (ISSN 2409-9988). The manuscript processing procedure is essential for authors, editors, reviewers, members of editorial boards and editorial councils, and heads of specialized dissertation defense councils at Ukrainian higher education institutions and research institutions. The article describes both the current algorithms for working with manuscripts and published articles and the planned changes that the editorial boards of these journals intend to implement in 2025. The article aims to enhance the understanding of manuscript requirements, particularly the authors’ responsibility to present scientific research in accordance with the principles of research integrity, evidence-based medicine, and the ethics of authorship, peer review, and editing. The editorial offices apply procedures such as mandatory plagiarism checks, double-blind peer review by at least two experts, selection of peer reviewers with appropriate expertise and qualifications, editing of manuscripts by medically trained editors, and publication under Creative Commons licenses. The editorial offices maintain zero tolerance for severe and repeated breaches of author and reviewer ethics, falsification of research findings, and plagiarism. The manuscript processing and publication algorithms used in KhNMU journals support free scientific expression and dissemination of scientific knowledge through an immediate open-access policy. Keywords: evidence-based medicine, double-blind peer review, Committee on Publication Ethics, open-access scientific journals.