Many authors have been requesting Open Access, as they want their manuscripts online and free to any reader as soon as possible. Moreover, for those authors eligible for PubMed Central (PMC) they want the 1-year embargo lifted immediately so readers can have access to the full manuscript instantly at PMC. We are now providing a hybrid online Open Access option. Open Access refers to scholarly journals that are available online, free of charge to the reader; without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. As a hybrid online Open Access journal and because there are costs associated with implementing a journal, and those costs are higher for open-access journals, the author pays the cost of the additional production fees. Due to existing subscription contract agreements, we will only allow approximately 15% (14 – 15 articles per year) of manuscripts to be designated as Open Access.

Some open-access journals can be subsidized or financed by academic institutions, organizations, societies or governments. However, most appear to be financed by payment of article processing charges by submitting authors and those payments are typically made available to researchers by their institution or funding agency. We do not charge a submission fee only a one-time production fee only if the manuscript is published. For those authors wanting to take advantage of open access with immediate free access for all readers, we provide an Open Access option.