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Overview
The Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, published since 1993 by the Forum for Medical Ethics Society, is a multi-disciplinary academic journal providing a platform for publication of original material and discussion on all aspects of bioethics, healthcare ethics and the humanities.
Aim and scope: Multi-disciplinary inquiry
The journal promotes multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural inquiry in the fields of health and healthcare by academics as well as activists from disciplines such as bio-medicine, public health, ethics, philosophy, social sciences, law, history, etc., and also creative expressions in art and literature. It strives to involve all cadres and beneficiaries of the healthcare system, and strengthen the hands of those with ethical values and concern for the under-privileged.
Peer-reviewed and Indexed material
All material submitted for publication in the journal, goes through a rigorous peer and editorial review by experts, and revisions when needed, before receiving approval for publication. In 2005, the US National Library of Medicine (MEDLINE/PubMed) decided to index all previous issues (starting from the first issue in 1993) and also started prospective indexing of IJME. In addition to PubMed, IJME is also indexed in a few other international databases, such as Scopus, The Philosophers Index (TPI), etc.
Periodicity
After peer and editorial review when a submission is approved for publication by the editor, it is considered for the earliest possible “Online First” publication. The Online First and other approved submissions are then published in the four quarterly issues of IJME every January, April, July and October.
Print subscription system
In 1993, IJME was started on the classical print journal model, with no payment from authors, while readers accessed the print copy by paying a subscription. This system still continues for access to copies of print issues.
Open access online
All material published in IJME, since 1993, is available open access on the journal’s website (www.ijme.in). As a policy, authors are NOT required to pay any mandatory article processing charge (APC) or publication fee and readers are not charged for access to any material. However, we have a voluntary payment system for authors and readers. In the cover letter at the time of submission, authors are requested to indicate their ability to make a voluntary payment, with the amount payable only after acceptance of their article.
Voluntary payment system for authors and readers
In order to sustain the journal financially, there is a system of voluntary payment by authors and readers, on the PayWhatYouWant (PWYW) model. Accordingly, authors and readers are requested to make payments of whatever amount they can afford (including no payment) for publication of articles or for full text views and PDF download of articles. Essentially, IJME does not allow any financial barrier to stop authors from publishing and readers from accessing public material but at the same time, encourages voluntary payment from those who can afford to pay.
Appeal for financial support
IJME does not have institutional support and funding, and is run by a group of volunteers and a small part/full-time paid staff. It is also committed to maintaining editorial independence from the publisher and avoiding financial dependence on commercial sources that could create conflicts of interest. In addition, we are striving to keep IJME’s online content free and open-access.
Therefore, IJME needs support through donations, grants and advertisements from individuals and non-profit foundations. Donations/grants are solicited only from Indian individuals and entities as Indian laws do not permit a journal to receive donations/grants from foreign sources.
However, foreign as well as Indian readers/authors may wish to support the journal by voluntary payment of fees in different ways, such as:
- a) By paying or gifting subscriptions of the print copies of the journal;
- b) By paying a fee of any amount for full-text views or PDF download of any article from the IJME website;
- c) By paying article processing charges of any amount on publication, which is affordable to readers/authors;
- d) By placing advertisements in designated spaces on the website for a specified period and in print issues of the journal. However, we do not accept advertisements from the pharmaceutical/medical device, armament, alcohol and tobacco industries. The advertisement rates and guidelines are available here.
About the Publisher: Forum for Medical Ethics Society (FMES)
The FMES is a not-for-profit society of individuals interested in bioethics, healthcare ethics and healthcare humanities. It is registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and the Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. Donations are eligible for tax exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. More information on the FMES and its other activities is available here. For more details on how to support us, write to [email protected] or [email protected]
History
The Beginning
The processes that led to the launch of the journal and the formation of the society interested in bioethics and healthcare ethics began in the latter part of the 1980s when the mainstream organisations of medical professionals vociferously opposed any accountability to society (a response to the Consumer Protection Act of 1986) and refused to take any action on growing reports of corruption and malpractice in medical care. From 1989 onwards, some medical professionals with a background of activism in the junior doctors’ association (MARD: Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors), Bombay Group of Medico Friends Circle (a nationwide socially conscious doctors’ group, active since the early 1970s), consumer activists (ACASH: Association of Consumer Action for Safety and Health) and doctors from the public hospitals in Bombay (now Mumbai) started meeting regularly at the KEM Hospital/GS Medical College, a public institute in Mumbai.
After meetings and seminars, in 1992 they decided to challenge the established interests of the medical profession by contesting elections of the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC). Eight doctors known for their eminence in ethical practice and concern for the public health system established a panel on the platform of the Forum for Medical Ethics (FME) in the elections. By sending out a letter to all doctors in Maharashtra and by using the media for creating public awareness on the role and responsibilities of the Medical Councils, the FME strove to bring the implementation of medical ethics to the centre of the debate in the election. The FME ensured that votes for the members of its panel were voluntarily sent through mail by each voter on his/her own in the postal ballot system used for the elections at that time.
The group also witnessed massive rigging of the elections by the candidate-doctors supported by money power and politics. The electoral malpractices were documented in detail by the group and presented to the Mumbai High Court in a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) and also widely disseminated through the first newsletter, entitled “Medical Ethics”, published in August 1993.
Struggle for legal registration and changes in the title of journal
The newsletter, Medical Ethics found wider support from the profession and the public, and was brought out every three months, and its scope was gradually expanded. After the publication of four issues of the newsletter and with increasing support, the group felt confident to convert the newsletter into a journal. It applied for registration of the title with the authorities in India. But instead of getting its preferred title of Indian Journal of Medical Ethics, it was allotted the title Issues in Medical Ethics. Thus, after publishing 10 issues under the name Medical Ethics, from 1996 it was published under the name Issues in Medical Ethics
After publishing as Issues in Medical Ethics for eight years (32 issues), the registrar of newspaper allotted the journal its preferred title, Indian Journal of Medical Ethics (IJME). So, since 2004 the journal has been published as IJME. However, our travails legal registration did not end there. After we brought out the IJME for 12 years (48 issues) — 2004 to 2015 — we discovered that our registration of 2004 was incomplete, and we were asked to restart the journal as a new one under the same title. Therefore, from 2016 we started the IJME as New Series. Thankfully, we are now assured that the registration is complete.
Expansion in the scope of the journal
As a journal of medical ethics, it began with a focus on the medical profession and medical care, with doctors as the main contributors. However, over the years, IJME has made a conscious transition by having contributors from multiple disciplines and extending its range to a journal of bioethics, healthcare ethics, and health and humanities.
Past Editors of the IJME
Since its inception in 1993, the following have served with dedication as the editors of the journal:
- Sunil K. Pandya (1993-99)
- Arun Bal (2000-02)
- Samiran Nundy (2003-04)
- Sanjay A. Pai (Acting Editor) (2005)
- George Thomas (2005-2011)
Editorial Team
| Founding Editor | |
| Sunil K. Pandya | |
| Editor | |
| Amar Jesani, Mumbai, India Independent Consultant; Visiting Professor, Centre for Ethics, Yenepoya Deemed To Be University, Mangaluru |
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| Consulting Editor | |
| Sandhya Srinivasan, Mumbai, India Independent journalist and researcher |
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| Working Editors | |
| Vijayaprasad Gopichandran, Chennai, India Independent Community Health Consultant |
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| Veena Johari, Mumbai, India Sole Proprietor, Courtyard Attorneys |
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| Sylvia Karpagam, Bengaluru, India Public health doctor and researcher |
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| Sunu C Thomas, Kochi, India Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi |
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| Sunita Sheel Bandewar, Pune, India Independent Researcher; General Secretary, Forum For Medical Ethics Society |
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| Sayantan Datta, Bengaluru, India Faculty In-Charge, Science Writing & Data Storytelling Lab, Alliance University — Quantum AI School for Advanced Research |
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| Sanjay A. Pai, Bengaluru, India Surgical pathologist and Head of pathology, Manipal Hospital, Yeshwanthpur |
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| Rakhi Ghoshal, Kolkata, India Independent Consultant |
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| Olinda Timms, Bengaluru, India Adjunct faculty, Division of Health and Humanities, St. John’s Research Institute, Bengaluru |
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| Nikhil Govind, Udupi, India Professor, Manipal Institute of Social Sciences Humanities and Arts (MISHA), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal |
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| Mala Ramanathan, Thiruvananthapuram, India Independent Researcher |
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| Lubna Duggal, Bengaluru, India Senior Consultant – Word Lab, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Bengaluru |
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| Bevin Vinay Kumar V N, Bhopal, India Assistant Professor, Azim Premji University, Bhopal |
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| Editorial Board | |
| Yogesh Jain, Bilaspur, India Public Health Physician; Co-founder, Jan Swasthya Sahyog (People’s Health Support Group), Bilaspur |
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| Yali Cong, Beijing, China Professor and PhD supervisor, Peking University Health Science Center |
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| Uma Kulkarni, Mangaluru, India Professor, Ophthalmology, Yenepoya Medical College; Additional Faculty, Centre for Ethics, Yenepoya (deemed to be University) |
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| Thalia Arawi, Beirut, Lebanon Founding Director, Salim El Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism Program, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut & Medical Center |
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| Supriya Subramani, Sydney, Australia Lecturer, Ethics and Critical Theory, Sydney Health Ethics, School of Public Health, University of Sydney |
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| Sundar Sarukkai, Bengaluru, India Independent Researcher |
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| Sujith J Chandy, Vellore, India Christian Medical College Vellore, India |
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| Sudarshan R Kottai, Palakkad, India Assistant professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad |
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| Sualeha Shekhani, Karachi, Pakistan Associate Professor, Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture, Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation |
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| Sisira Hemananda Siribaddana, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka Chair Professor of Medicine, Rajarata University of Sri Lanka; Honorary Consultant Physician, Teaching Hospital Anuradhapura |
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| Silke Schicktanz, Gottingen, Germany Professor, Ethical and Cultural Studies of Biomedicine, University Medical Center Göttingen |
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| Satendra Singh, Delhi, India Director-Professor, Physiology, University College of Medical Sciences & GTB Hospital, Delhi |
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| Sarah Hodges, London, UK Professor, Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, King’s College London |
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| Sanjay Nagral, Mumbai, India Director, Dept of Surgical Gastroenterology, Jaslok Hospital & Research Centre, Mumbai |
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| Sabina Faiz Rashid, Dhaka, Bangladesh Professor and Mushtaque Chowdhury Chair in Health and Poverty, BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka |
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| Ruth Macklin, Pittsburgh, USA Distinguished University Professor Emerita, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health (Biomedical & Bioethics Research Training), Albert Einstein College of Medicine |
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| Roli Mathur, Bengaluru, India Scientist ‘G’ & Head, ICMR Bioethics Unit, Dept of Health Research, MoHFW, Government of India |
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| Robyna Irshad Khan, Karachi, Pakistan Consultant anesthesiologist, bioethicist, educator, and The Mohammad Bhai Endowed Professor at Aga Khan University, Karachi |
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| Raffaella Ravinetto, Antwerp, Belgium Head of the Public Health Department, Head of the Pharmaceutical Public Health research unit, and Chair of the Institutional Review Board, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp |
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| Priya Satalkar, Geneva, Switzerland Scientist, Department of Sexual and Reproductive Research and Rights, World Health Organization, Geneva |
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| Nobhojit Roy, New Delhi, India Executive Director, The George Institute for Global Health, India |
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| Neha Mishra, Andhra Pradesh, India Assistant Professor, Practice at the Centre for Writing & Pedagogy, Krea University |
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| Manjulika Vaz, Bengaluru, India Associate Professor, Division of Health and Humanities, St John’s Research Institute, St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru |
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| Madhavi Bhargava, Mangaluru, India Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Yenepoya Medical College; Deputy Head, Center for Nutrition Studies, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) |
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| Kishor Patwardhan, Varanasi, India Department of Kriya Sharir, Faculty of Ayurveda, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi |
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| Kiran Kumbhar, Philadelphia, USA Lecturer, University of Pennsylvania |
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| Julian Sheather, London, UK Special Adviser in Ethics and Human Rights, British Medical Association |
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| George Thomas, Chennai, India Part time Consultant in Orthopedics , St. Isabel’s Hospital, Chennai |
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| Florencia Luna, Buenos Aires, Argentina Director, CONICET & Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Argentina |
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| Eunice Kamaara, Eldoret, Kenya Director, CONICET & Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Argentina |
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| Ehsan Shamsi Gooshki, Melbourne, Australia Monash Bioethics Centre, Monash University, Melbourne |
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| Deepa Venkatachalam, Mysuru, India Feminist public health activist |
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| Aritra Chatterjee, Kolkata, India Licensed Clinical Psychologist (Rehabilitation Council of India) and Behavior Science Consultant |
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| Aqsa Sheikh, New Delhi, India Professor, Community Medicine, Hamdard Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, New Delhi |
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| Anuradha Rose, Vellore, India Professor & Head, Department of Community Medicine; Faculty, Department of Bioethics; Adjunct Faculty, Center for Public Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore |
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| Aamir Jafarey, Karachi, Pakistan Chairperson, Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture, SIUT Karachi Pakistan |
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| Editorial Consultant | ||
| Meenakshi D’cruz, Mumbai, India [email protected] | ||
| Editorial Coordinator | ||
| Georgiaria Fernandes, Mumbai, India [email protected] | ||
| Editorial correspondence, [email protected] | ||
| Subscription and administration, [email protected] | ||