APC & Fee Policy

Article Processing Charge (APC)

The Journal of Clinical and Advanced Medicine (JCAM) operates under a full open-access publishing model. To support editorial management, peer review, publication, digital archiving, and platform maintenance, an Article Processing Charge (APC) is applied.

  • APC Amount: USD 500 per accepted manuscript
  • No submission or review fees
  • APC is payable only after peer review and final acceptance

Waiver Policy

JCAM is committed to fairness and inclusivity in scholarly publishing. APC waivers or discounts may be granted after editorial acceptance and before payment.

1. Quality-Based Waiver

  • Full APC waiver is granted only to exceptional, high-quality manuscripts
  • Other accepted manuscripts may receive:
    • Partial waiver
    • Discounted APC (50%–75%)

2. Financial Hardship Waiver

Authors facing genuine financial constraints, including those from low-resource settings, may request a waiver.

  • Waiver requests must be submitted after acceptance and before APC payment
  • Decisions are made by the editorial office based on quality, fairness, and journal policy
  • Waiver decisions are final

Withdrawal Policy

JCAM allows manuscript withdrawal under the following conditions:

1. Withdrawal Within 5 Days of Submission

  • Free withdrawal with no charges
  • A written withdrawal request must be submitted by the corresponding author

2. Withdrawal After 5 Days of Submission

  • A minimal withdrawal fee is charged to cover:
    • Editorial screening
    • Reviewer coordination
    • Administrative processing

3. Withdrawal After Acceptance

  • If a manuscript is withdrawn after acceptance, the full APC must be paid
  • This is because peer review and editorial processing have already been completed

Retraction Policy

JCAM follows COPE guidelines for handling retractions.

1. Author-Initiated Retraction (After Publication)

If authors request retraction after publication, a retraction fee applies due to:

  • Impact on the journal’s academic record
  • Administrative and indexing updates
  • Ethical review and publication of retraction notices

2. Journal-Initiated Retraction

If the journal retracts an article due to:

  • Ethical violations
  • Quality concerns
  • Unintentional serious errors

No retraction fee is charged to the authors

Policy Transparency

  • APC does not influence editorial decisions
  • Editorial acceptance is based only on scientific merit and ethical compliance
  • All fees, waivers, withdrawals, and retractions are handled transparently