Confidentiality
The Gazette of Medical Sciences (The GMS) is committed to maintaining confidentiality throughout manuscript submission, editorial assessment, peer review and related scholarly publishing activities. Editors, reviewers, editorial staff and other individuals involved in these processes are expected to protect confidential information entrusted to them.
This policy aims to safeguard unpublished scholarly work, reviewer identities, editorial correspondence, personal information and other sensitive materials while supporting fair and responsible editorial decisions.
Our Commitment to Confidentiality
Manuscripts submitted to The GMS are treated as confidential documents during editorial evaluation and peer review. Unpublished information should not be disclosed, reproduced or used for purposes unrelated to legitimate editorial and publication activities.
Access to submitted material should be limited to individuals who reasonably require it for manuscript assessment, editorial administration, ethical review or authorized publication preparation.
Confidentiality is maintained alongside the journal's responsibilities for research integrity, editorial independence and appropriate handling of ethical concerns.
Confidentiality During Peer Review
The GMS follows a double-blind peer-review process as its standard approach, in which authors' and reviewers' identities are ordinarily concealed from one another during review.
Editors and editorial staff should take reasonable steps to protect reviewer identities and confidential review materials.
Authors should avoid including unnecessary identifying information in anonymized manuscript files when requested for double-blind review.
Absolute anonymity cannot always be guaranteed, particularly where information is publicly available or an identity can be inferred from the scholarly content. Nevertheless, deliberate unauthorized disclosure of confidential reviewer or author information is not permitted.
Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Staff
Editors and editorial staff must handle submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial discussions and related correspondence with appropriate confidentiality.
Manuscript information should be shared only with individuals legitimately involved in editorial evaluation, peer review, publication preparation or authorized administrative activities.
Editors must not use unpublished research findings, ideas, data or other confidential information obtained through their editorial responsibilities for personal or professional advantage.
Where an editor has a relevant competing interest, the manuscript should be handled according to the journal's Conflict of Interest Policy.
Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers
Reviewers must treat manuscripts and related materials received for review as confidential documents.
Reviewers must not share manuscripts, disclose unpublished findings or discuss confidential content with unauthorized individuals.
If a reviewer wishes to consult a colleague or involve another individual in the review process, prior permission must be obtained from the editorial team. Any authorized contributor must observe appropriate confidentiality obligations.
Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript information to advance their own research, commercial interests or other professional activities.
Where a reviewer identifies a potential conflict of interest or cannot maintain appropriate confidentiality, the editorial team should be informed promptly.
AI-Assisted Tools and Confidential Manuscripts
Editors, reviewers and editorial personnel must exercise particular care when considering artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies in connection with confidential manuscript materials.
Unpublished manuscripts, reviewer reports, confidential editorial correspondence or identifiable personal information must not be uploaded to unauthorized external AI platforms or services where confidentiality cannot be appropriately protected.
Any authorized use of AI-assisted tools must be consistent with the journal's confidentiality requirements, applicable data protection obligations and the AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy .
AI-generated assessments must not replace independent human editorial or peer-review judgment.
Responsibilities of Authors
Authors are expected to respect the confidentiality of editorial correspondence, reviewer reports and other information communicated in confidence during manuscript evaluation.
Authors should not publicly identify confidential reviewers or disclose private editorial communications without appropriate authorization.
Authors remain free to discuss their own research, communicate their findings and disseminate their work in accordance with applicable publication, copyright and ethical requirements.
Confidentiality obligations should not be interpreted as preventing legitimate scholarly discussion of an author's own unpublished research.
Patient, Participant and Sensitive Research Information
Manuscripts involving patients, research participants or sensitive personal information must respect applicable privacy, consent and confidentiality requirements.
Authors should avoid including unnecessary personally identifying information and should obtain appropriate consent where identifiable information is intended for publication.
Editors and reviewers should handle unpublished clinical, personal or sensitive research information with particular care.
Confidentiality protections should be consistent with the journal's Informed Consent Policy and applicable legal and ethical standards.
Editorial Correspondence and Review Records
Editorial decisions, reviewer comments, internal assessments and correspondence associated with manuscript handling are ordinarily confidential unless disclosure is authorized or otherwise required.
Such materials may be accessed by authorized journal personnel for legitimate editorial, administrative, quality assurance or research integrity purposes.
Review reports should not be publicly attributed to individual reviewers without their appropriate consent or another valid basis for disclosure.
Ethical Investigations and Necessary Disclosure
Confidentiality does not prevent the journal from taking appropriate steps to investigate credible concerns involving research misconduct, publication ethics, authorship, conflicts of interest or the integrity of the scholarly record.
Where reasonably necessary, relevant information may be shared on a confidential basis with appropriate institutions, ethics committees, publishers, regulatory authorities or other parties legitimately involved in addressing the concern.
Any disclosure should be proportionate to its purpose, limited to relevant information and consistent with applicable legal and ethical obligations.
The GMS may also disclose information where required by applicable law or a valid legal process.
Confidentiality After Publication
Once an article is published, its publicly released content may be accessed, shared and reused according to the journal's applicable open-access licence.
Publication does not automatically make confidential reviewer identities, internal editorial discussions, unpublished materials or private correspondence publicly available.
Authors retain the rights described in the journal's Open Access Policy and Licensing and Copyright Policy.
Concerns About Confidentiality
Individuals who become aware of a potential breach of confidentiality involving the journal's editorial or peer-review processes are encouraged to inform the editorial team.
The GMS may review the circumstances, seek clarification from relevant individuals and take proportionate corrective or protective measures where appropriate.
Confidentiality requirements apply independently of publication charges, waiver requests or optional author services.