Ethics

All research articles published by the ’Italian Journal of Prevention, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Medicine" (IJPDM) must adhere to the highest ethical standards. The Journal fully endorses the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct and the COPE International Standards for Editors and Authors.

The Editorial Board of IJPDM determines the form and rigor of the peer review process. All authors submitting biomedical manuscripts must comply with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (ICMJE).
IJPDM also endorses the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) Policy Statement on Geopolitical Intrusion on Editorial Decisions.

Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing

IJPDM adheres to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, applicable to all published content, including supplements, special issues, and conference proceedings.

Editors are required to communicate transparently any practice that deviates from standard procedures.
The Journal and its Editorial Board are committed to promoting accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusivity in all aspects of the publication process.

Editorial decisions must be based solely on scientific merit and not influenced by the origin, nationality, ethnicity, political or religious beliefs of the authors. IJPDM upholds a strictly neutral position regarding territorial descriptions, maps, or institutional affiliations. All territorial claims expressed in published articles are those of the authors alone.

Draft: Policy on the Use of Generative AI in Scientific Manuscripts

1. AI and Authorship
Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Large Language Models, or similar) cannot be listed as an author or co-author of any manuscript submitted to the Italian Journal of Prevention, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Medicine. Authorship implies responsibilities, rights, and accountability that can only be attributed to humans.
2. Disclosure Requirement
Authors who use generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in the preparation of their manuscript are required to disclose this at the time of submission.
- Where to disclose: A statement must be included in the "Methods" section or in the "Acknowledgments" of the paper.
- What to disclose: Authors must specify which tool was used and the specific parts of the process it assisted (e.g., data analysis, language editing, or literature synthesis).
3. Author Responsibility
The authors are ultimately responsible for the entire content of the manuscript, including the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work. Authors must ensure that:
- The AI-generated content is free from plagiarism.
- All sources cited by the AI are verified and accurate (to avoid "AI hallucinations" or fake citations).
- The use of AI does not violate any ethical standards regarding data privacy and human/animal rights.
4. AI in Images and Graphics
The use of AI to create or alter medical images, charts, or clinical photographs is generally discouraged unless it is part of the research methodology itself. Any such use must be clearly explained in the image captions and the methods section.
5. Peer Reviewer Policy
Reviewers are strictly prohibited from uploading submitted manuscripts into generative AI tools. Doing so violates the confidentiality of the peer-review process and may breach the intellectual property rights of the authors.

Plagiarism

All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using reliable online tools. Any evidence of plagiarism or research misconduct leads to immediate rejection and reporting to the European Network of Research Integrity Offices (ENRIO) and the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI).

IJPDM fully supports the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (ALLEA). Authors must ensure that all submitted material is original and properly cited.

Recommended resources:

• Roig M. Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical writing. St. John’s University.
• Long TC, Errami M, George AC, et al. Responding to Possible Plagiarism. Science 2009;323:1293–1294.
• Lewis J, Ossowski S, Hicks J, Errami M, Garner HR. Text similarity: an alternative way to search MEDLINE. Bioinformatics 2006;22:2298–2304.

Conflict of Interest

Conflicts of interest occur when personal, financial, or professional relationships could inappropriately influence an individual’s actions.
Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose all relevant relationships that might bias their work.

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest statement within their manuscript and, if necessary, provide further details in the cover letter. Editors may decline to consider manuscripts if sponsors have exercised control over data analysis, interpretation, or publication rights.

Reviewers must also declare any potential conflicts and recuse themselves when appropriate. Editors responsible for final decisions must not have any conflicts related to the articles under consideration.

Informed Consent

IJPDM strictly follows the ICMJE Protection of Research Participants policy.
When authors include identifiable patient data, images, or case details, informed written consent must be obtained.

Authors are responsible for ensuring compliance with all Data Protection and Privacy Laws and must retain copies of consent forms.
Special attention must be given to the protection of children, vulnerable individuals, and cases involving deceased persons (where consent must be obtained from next of kin).

Even anonymized materials must be handled respectfully, ensuring that captions and descriptions are not demeaning or misleading.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts must be handled with strict confidentiality. Editors and reviewers must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than those directly involved in the review process.
Confidentiality may be broken only in cases of suspected misconduct.

Role of the Funding Source

Authors must clearly state all sources of financial support for the research and specify the role of sponsors (if any) in study design, data collection, analysis, and publication decisions. If sponsors were not involved, this should be explicitly stated.

 

Obligation to Register Clinical Trials

The ICMJE believes that it is important to foster a comprehensive, publicly available database of clinical trials. The ICMJE defines a clinical trial as any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or concurrent comparison or control groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome. Medical interventions include drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, process-of-care changes, etc. Our journals require, as a condition of consideration for publication, registration in a public trials registry. The journal considers a trial for publication only if it has been registered before the enrollment of the first patient. The journal does not advocate one particular registry, but requires authors to register their trial in a registry that meets several criteria. The registry must be accessible to the public at no charge. It must be open to all prospective registrants and managed by a non-profit organization. There must be a mechanism to ensure the validity of the registration data, and the registry should be electronically searchable. An acceptable registry must include a minimum of data elements (http://www.icmje.org/about-icmje/faqs/clinical-trials-registration/). For example, ClinicalTrials.gov (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov), sponsored by the United States National Library of Medicine, meets these requirements.

 

Multidisciplinary Mission

The Italian Journal of Prevention, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Medicine (IJPDTM) is the official journal of the Società Italiana di Medicina Diagnostica e Terapeutica (SIMEDET).
Its purpose is to promote research, scientific culture, and professional development both within and beyond the medical and healthcare communities.

The journal’s mission is to provide a permanent and rigorous platform for original articles, reviews, case reports, short communications, and scientific letters related to prevention, diagnosis, and therapy in clinical and translational disciplines.

Disciplinary Profile and Genuine Multidisciplinarity

• IJPDTM addresses healthcare professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds, including physicians, nurses, biomedical laboratory technicians, pathology technicians, pharmacists, physiotherapists, and other health professionals involved in prevention and diagnostics.
• The journal covers a broad range of thematic areas such as internal medicine, emergency medicine, clinical prevention, primary care, and related specialties including cardiology, pulmonology, nephrology, neurology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, and hematology.
• The multidisciplinary approach is not merely stated as a mission but is concretely reflected in the journal’s publications — for example, articles addressing emergency department debriefing, digital health, interprofessional collaboration, and shared clinical protocols.

The Strategic Value of Interdisciplinary Collaboration

• Collaboration among disciplines — including internists, specialists, laboratory professionals, nurses, and other healthcare practitioners — is considered a key driver of cultural and professional growth, contributing both to the improvement of care quality and to greater efficiency in resource utilization.
• Moreover, the interaction between different professional figures involved in patient care allows the development of protocols, guidelines, and practical recommendations that are more easily integrated into real-world clinical practice, fostering shared and multidisciplinary pathways.
• The journal promotes not only the publication of specialized studies but also contributions that involve cooperation across diverse areas such as clinical practice, diagnostics, healthcare management, education, technology, digital innovation, and integrated care systems.

Commitment to Breadth and Relevance

• The journal aims to ensure that publications are not confined within a single discipline but have a practical impact across the integrated healthcare continuum — from prevention (screening, health promotion, risk management) to diagnostics (laboratory technologies, imaging, diagnostic processes), to therapy and follow-up, including organizational aspects of care such as emergency management, debriefing, and staff training.
• The journal’s structure (online, open access, and peer-reviewed) supports rapid and transparent scientific communication among diverse professionals, reinforcing the concept that diagnostic and therapeutic innovation arises from multidisciplinary exchange.

Invitation to Interdisciplinary Participation

For these reasons, IJPDTM actively encourages the submission of studies that:

• involve multiple specialties (e.g., cardiology + medical informatics, infectious diseases + clinical management, nursing education + health technology);
• integrate clinical, diagnostic, and managerial/operational data (e.g., protocol studies, outcome studies, multidisciplinary case reports);
• originate from research teams spanning departments, healthcare professions, and diagnostic/therapeutic areas;
• have practical relevance for improving care pathways, protocols, or guidelines, at both local and regional levels, with potential for broader applicability.

 

Publication Characteristics

 Open Access Model and Institutional Support

 

• Open Access and Digital: IJPDTM is an online-only, Open Access, and peer-reviewed journal. All content is immediately accessible and free of charge to ensure the widest possible dissemination of scientific knowledge.
• No Publication Fees: The journal does not apply any Article Processing Charges (APCs) to Authors.
• Institutional Support: The entire editorial and publication process is supported by institutional funds from the Società Italiana di Medicina Diagnostica e Terapeutica (SIMDT), making publication fair and accessible.