1. Article Processing Charges (APC)

Health Nexus provides immediate open access to published research without subscription or reader access fees. To support its publishing operations and scholarly dissemination infrastructure, the journal has established an APC schedule for eligible articles under its publishing model beginning in 2027.

1.1 Scope of the APC

The standard APC supports the journal's publishing operations, including:

• Editorial administration and manuscript management.
• Coordination and administration of independent peer review.
• Copyediting, typesetting, and publication formatting.
• Article metadata preparation and applicable DOI registration.
• Online hosting, open-access dissemination, and publishing infrastructure.
• Technical operations supporting digital preservation and scholarly discoverability.

Payment of an APC does not constitute payment for acceptance, favorable peer review, expedited editorial approval, or any particular scholarly outcome.

1.2 Transitional Diamond Open Access Exemption

Manuscripts submitted after implementation of the APC policy are subject to the applicable standard charge unless an approved full or partial waiver, discount, or other published exemption applies.

2. Payment Methods

Where an APC or approved administrative service fee is payable, the publisher provides official payment instructions through authorized billing correspondence.

Available payment arrangements may include:

• Bank Transfer: Payment by bank or international wire transfer using the verified beneficiary and reference details supplied in the official invoice.
• Online Payment: Payment through an authorized secure electronic payment channel, where offered by the publisher.

Payment instructions, accepted payment methods, and any applicable banking or processing information will be provided after acceptance or approval of the relevant administrative service.

Authors should verify billing information through the journal's official communication channels before making a payment. Changes to beneficiary details or payment instructions should be independently confirmed with the publisher.

3. Invoicing

An official APC invoice is issued after formal acceptance when the manuscript is subject to the applicable publication charge. Manuscripts covered by the transitional Diamond Open Access exemption or an approved full waiver are not subject to a standard APC payment request.

An applicable invoice will normally identify:

• The journal and publisher.
• The manuscript or article title and relevant submission reference.
• The author, institution, or designated billing recipient.
• The amount due, currency, and any approved discount or partial waiver.
• Applicable taxes or additional charges, if legally required and separately disclosed.
• The invoice number and issue date.
• Accepted payment methods, payment instructions, and transaction reference information.
• The applicable payment deadline or other billing conditions.

Authors are responsible for providing accurate billing information, including the appropriate payer and institutional invoicing details, when requested.

APC invoicing is administered separately from the scholarly peer review process. Reviewer recommendations and editorial decisions are not conditional upon payment.

4. Payment Confirmation and Receipts

Authors or designated payers must complete applicable payments in accordance with the official invoice and the payment instructions provided by the publisher.

• Payment Verification: Payments are confirmed against the relevant invoice and transaction records.
• Receipt Issuance: An official payment confirmation or receipt is provided after the payment has been verified.
• Institutional Payments: Payments made by universities, hospitals, research institutions, funders, or other authorized organizations may be processed using the corresponding billing information.
• Billing Assistance: Authors may contact the Editorial Office regarding payment verification, invoicing questions, or other administrative billing issues.

Authors should retain relevant invoices, receipts, and transaction confirmations for their records. Any payment discrepancy should be reported promptly using the journal's official contact information.

5. Publication and Article Delivery

Following formal acceptance and completion of applicable production, documentation, and billing requirements, an approved manuscript proceeds to publication as the journal's Version of Record.

The publication process includes:

• Editorial and Production Verification: Confirmation of final author information, required declarations, references, and publication documentation.
• Copyediting and Typesetting: Preparation of the final article for scholarly publication.
• Author Proof Review: Verification of the publication proofs and correction of production errors.
• Persistent Identification: Assignment and registration of an appropriate DOI where supported.
• Online Publication: Publication of the final article through the official Health Nexus website.
• Author Notification: Communication of the published article's official URL and relevant bibliographic information.

Published articles are made immediately available to readers under the journal's open-access policy and applicable Creative Commons licence, without subscription or pay-per-view fees.

The journal supports the long-term accessibility of published research through appropriate publishing infrastructure and its participation in LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, and the PKP Preservation Network. Preservation coverage of individual articles and issues is determined by the applicable archival records.

6. Waiver and Discount Policy

Health Nexus recognizes that publication charges may create financial barriers for researchers. To support equitable access to scholarly publishing, the journal provides for full APC waivers and partial waivers or discounts, subject to eligibility assessment and the availability of applicable arrangements.

A waiver or discount applies to an otherwise chargeable manuscript and is distinct from the automatic transitional Diamond Open Access exemption for manuscripts submitted before the implementation of the 2027 APC policy.

6.1 Full APC Waivers

Full APC waivers may be considered for:

• Authors from Low-Income Countries: Authors whose circumstances fall within relevant low-income country classifications, including the applicable World Bank income classifications.
• Demonstrated Financial Hardship: Authors able to demonstrate significant financial constraints or a lack of suitable institutional, research, or other publication funding.

A full waiver, if approved, removes the applicable standard APC. Waiver eligibility is assessed on the circumstances presented and is not an automatic consequence of a manuscript's academic acceptance.

6.2 Partial APC Waivers and Discounts

Partial waivers or discounts may be considered for:

• Authors from Lower-Middle-Income Countries: Applicants whose circumstances fall within the relevant country-income classifications.
• Unfunded Early-Career Researchers: Researchers at an early stage of their academic careers without adequate financial support for publication.
• Exceptional Scholarly Contributions: Manuscripts of exceptional academic merit that receive appropriate editorial recommendation for discretionary financial consideration, without affecting the independent publication decision.

The amount of any partial waiver or discount is determined through the applicable financial assessment and must be communicated to the author before invoicing.

6.3 Eligibility and Multi-Author Submissions

For manuscripts with multiple authors, a waiver application should identify the applicant whose circumstances support the request and disclose relevant institutional or project-level publication funding. The Editorial Office may request clarification where the available information is insufficient to determine eligibility.

A request based on a particular author's country classification or financial hardship does not, by itself, establish automatic eligibility for the entire author group. The journal evaluates the stated grounds and available evidence before communicating a decision.

7. Waiver Application Process

Authors seeking a discretionary full or partial APC waiver must submit their request at the time of manuscript submission, in accordance with the journal's published procedures.

The application should include:

• Manuscript Identification: The manuscript title and submission reference where available.
• Type of Request: Identification of whether a full waiver or partial discount is sought.
• Eligibility Grounds: A concise explanation of the relevant financial, institutional, geographic, or other published eligibility circumstances.
• Funding Information: Relevant information concerning institutional support, research funding, or the absence of publication funding.
• Supporting Documentation: Reasonable additional evidence where requested for confidential financial assessment.

7.1 Confidential Assessment

Waiver applications are reviewed confidentially through the journal's designated administrative process. Financial information provided for waiver assessment is not disclosed to external peer reviewers.

The outcome of a waiver application does not influence whether the manuscript is sent for review, the content of reviewer reports, or the editorial decision.

7.2 Transitional Exemptions

Manuscripts eligible for the journal's transitional Diamond Open Access exemption do not need to obtain a discretionary APC waiver in order to retain that exemption. The exemption arises from the journal's announced transitional policy and applies independently of the normal waiver categories.

8. Administrative Service Fees

In addition to applicable Article Processing Charges, Health Nexus may charge a separate administrative service fee for certain approved, author-requested services involving additional administrative documentation, production, billing, or non-essential metadata processing after acceptance or publication.

8.1 Services That May Be Subject to a Fee

A fee may apply to the following approved, optional, author-requested administrative services, provided that the request is not necessary to correct an error or maintain the integrity of the published record:

• Additional administrative processing of discretionary post-publication metadata changes.
• Approved non-essential changes to administrative author information or publication documentation.
• Additional PDF, HTML, or metadata processing arising solely from an approved discretionary author request.
• Reissuance or revision of invoices, receipts, publication certificates, or acceptance letters at the author's request, where the original documents were correctly issued.
• Preparation of additional administrative documents requested after acceptance or publication.

Changes affecting authorship, scientific findings, published declarations, or material bibliographic facts require appropriate editorial assessment. The journal must determine whether such a change is necessary to maintain the accuracy of the scholarly record before considering any administrative fee.

8.2 General 30-Day Request Period

Requests for discretionary, non-essential administrative changes after publication should normally be submitted within 30 calendar days of the article's publication date.

Requests received after this period may be declined where the requested change is optional, unnecessary, unsupported, or inconsistent with the reliability of the published record.

The 30-day administrative request period does not prevent authors, readers, institutions, or editors from raising factual errors, authorship concerns, research integrity issues, or other matters that require an appropriate correction or post-publication notice.

8.3 Services and Actions Exempt from Administrative Fees

Necessary scholarly corrections must be assessed according to the journal's Publication Ethics Policy, independently of an author's ability or willingness to pay an administrative fee.

8.4 Approval and Billing

The Editorial Office determines whether an administrative request is permissible and whether it falls within a chargeable service category. Any applicable fee is disclosed before the service is undertaken.

Payment does not guarantee approval of a requested change. Editorial approval depends on the nature of the request, supporting evidence, applicable authorship and publication ethics requirements, and the integrity of the official publication record.

9. Editorial Independence

Health Nexus maintains editorial independence from Article Processing Charges, administrative service fees, sponsorship, and waiver arrangements.

• Independent Acceptance Decisions: The ability to pay does not influence whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected.
• Independent Peer Review: Reviewer selection, reviewer recommendations, and scientific assessment are not influenced by APC payments or waiver status.
• Confidential Waiver Assessment: Waiver requests and sensitive financial information are not disclosed to external reviewers.
• Independent Correction Decisions: Decisions concerning corrections, retractions, and publication ethics matters are based on scholarly and ethical considerations rather than administrative payments.
• Publisher and Editorial Responsibilities: Financial administration is managed separately from the academic responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief and authorized editors.

The journal's financial arrangements must not compromise the fairness, integrity, confidentiality, or independence of its editorial and peer review processes.

10. Refund Policy

APC payments are generally non-refundable once an article has been formally accepted and the applicable publication processing services have been undertaken.

Exceptions may be considered in circumstances including:

• Duplicate Payment: The same invoice or charge has been paid more than once.
• Administrative or Billing Error: An incorrect charge has been issued or collected.
• Incorrect Application of an Exemption: An APC has been collected despite an applicable transitional exemption or approved full waiver.
• Other Required Adjustments: A refund or correction is required under applicable law or binding payment terms.

10.1 Refund Requests

Refund requests should be submitted to the Editorial Office with relevant supporting documentation, including:

• The manuscript title or article reference.
• The relevant invoice or transaction number.
• Evidence of payment.
• A concise explanation of the grounds for the request.
• Additional information reasonably necessary to verify the claim.

Each request is evaluated according to the applicable fee arrangements, payment records, and relevant legal obligations. The outcome will be communicated through the publisher's authorized correspondence channels.

11. Transparency and Compliance

Health Nexus seeks to maintain transparent and publicly accessible information concerning all author-facing publication charges, administrative service fees, waiver opportunities, payment conditions, and refund arrangements.

The journal's financial policies are informed by internationally recognized principles and guidance, including:

• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): Requirements and recommendations concerning the clear disclosure of author charges, waiver conditions, and financial transparency.
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): Principles concerning the separation of author fees from editorial decisions, transparent publishing practices, and the fair handling of corrections and publication ethics matters.
• Open-Access Publishing Principles: Practices supporting free reader access, transparent licensing, responsible scholarly publishing, and equitable opportunities for research dissemination.
• Responsible Financial Administration: Accurate invoicing, payment verification, appropriate recordkeeping, and clear communication of applicable charges.

11.1 Public Disclosure of Charges

The journal publicly discloses its standard APC, applicable implementation and transitional arrangements, absence of submission and peer review fees, waiver categories, administrative service fees, and refund principles.

No undisclosed mandatory charge may be introduced as a condition of manuscript submission, peer review, or editorial acceptance. Authors will be informed of any applicable additional administrative fee before an optional service is performed.

11.2 Consistency with Other Journal Policies

This policy should be interpreted consistently with the journal's Open Access Policy, Copyright & Licensing Policy, Publication Ethics Policy, Submission Process, and official announcements concerning the 2027 APC transition.

Where a previously announced transitional exemption applies to an eligible manuscript, the exemption remains applicable notwithstanding a general fee schedule expressed by reference to the year of acceptance.

11.3 Policy Changes

The journal may review and amend its publication charge and waiver policies as appropriate. Material changes should be publicly announced with a clear effective date and should identify any transitional provisions necessary to protect eligible submissions made under previously published arrangements. References to DOAJ and COPE do not constitute claims of membership, indexing, certification, or endorsement.

12. Contact for Billing and Payment

For inquiries concerning APC eligibility, transitional exemptions, waiver applications, approved administrative service fees, invoices, payment verification, or refund requests, please contact the Health Nexus Editorial Office.

Authors should include the relevant manuscript reference, invoice number, or transaction details when submitting billing inquiries. Sensitive financial information should be communicated only through appropriately authorized channels.