Health Nexus: Digital Health and Medical AI is published on a biannual basis, with two regular issues released each calendar year.

The journal operates two annual publication cycles, with regular issues scheduled for publication in June and December.

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Publication Schedule

Regular Issue	Issue Compilation Cut-off	Expected Publication
Issue 1	15 April	Around 15 June
Issue 2	15 October	Around 15 December

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Issue Compilation Cut-off

The issue compilation cut-off is the date on which the editorial office normally finalises the pool of accepted manuscripts to be considered for inclusion in the forthcoming regular issue.

For the June issue, the regular compilation cut-off is 15 April.

For the December issue, the regular compilation cut-off is 15 October.

The compilation cut-off is not a manuscript submission deadline. The journal accepts submissions throughout the year.

To be considered for a particular issue, a manuscript should normally have:

• Completed editorial screening;
• Completed external peer review;
• Completed all required revisions;
• Received formal editorial acceptance;
• Satisfied applicable ethical, reporting, data, and disclosure requirements;
• Provided all files required for production.

Submission before a compilation cut-off does not guarantee publication in the corresponding issue. Manuscripts that remain under peer review, revision, ethics assessment, or technical preparation at the cut-off date will normally be considered for the next available issue.

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June Publication Cycle

The first regular issue of each calendar year is normally published around 15 June.

The editorial office normally completes issue compilation on 15 April. The period between the compilation cut-off and publication is used for final editorial processing and production, which may include:

• Final manuscript checks;
• Copyediting;
• Reference and metadata verification;
• Typesetting and article layout;
• Author proof review;
• DOI and publication-metadata preparation;
• Final quality assurance;
• Issue assembly and online publication preparation.

The target publication date is approximately 15 June. A limited variation around this date may occur where additional technical, editorial, ethical, or production checks are required.

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December Publication Cycle

The second regular issue of each calendar year is normally published around 15 December.

The editorial office normally completes issue compilation on 15 October.

Accepted manuscripts included within this publication cycle proceed through final editorial and production processing during the period between the compilation cut-off and formal issue publication.

The target publication date is approximately 15 December. A limited variation around this date may occur where necessary to ensure the accuracy, completeness, and integrity of the final published record.

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Continuous Submission

The journal accepts manuscripts throughout the year.

Authors are not required to wait for a particular submission window. Manuscripts may be submitted at any time through the journal’s online submission system.

Editorial screening and peer review proceed according to manuscript readiness, reviewer availability, subject area, methodological requirements, and the journal’s editorial workload.

The April and October dates therefore regulate issue compilation rather than manuscript submission.

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Assignment of Accepted Articles to an Issue

Following formal acceptance, an article will normally be assigned to the next appropriate regular issue for which production scheduling remains available.

Issue assignment may take account of:

• The date of final acceptance;
• Completion of production requirements;
• The thematic balance of the issue;
• Article type;
• Available publication capacity;
• Special-issue or collection arrangements;
• Technical, ethical, or legal matters requiring resolution before publication.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Office retain responsibility for determining the final allocation and order of articles within each issue.

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Manuscripts Accepted near the Compilation Cut-off

A manuscript accepted shortly before 15 April or 15 October is not automatically guaranteed inclusion in the immediately forthcoming issue.

The article must also be ready for production. Where insufficient time remains for copyediting, typesetting, author proofing, metadata verification, or final quality control, publication may be deferred to the next regular issue.

This approach ensures that publication schedules do not compromise:

• Peer-review quality;
• Editorial independence;
• Research-integrity assessment;
• Author proof review;
• Metadata accuracy;
• Production quality.

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Publication Dates

The journal uses 15 June and 15 December as its normal target dates for publication of regular issues.

The phrase “around 15 June” or “around 15 December” recognises that the exact online publication date may vary slightly because of production, technical, indexing, preservation, ethical, or administrative requirements.

The authoritative publication date of an individual article is the date recorded on its final Version of Record and associated publication metadata.

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Special Issues and Thematic Collections

The journal may publish special issues, thematic collections, supplements, or invited collections in addition to its two regular annual issues.

Such publications may operate according to a separate editorial timetable and do not alter the journal’s regular biannual publication schedule.

Special issues and thematic collections remain subject to the journal’s standard requirements concerning:

• Editorial independence;
• Peer review;
• Publication ethics;
• Research integrity;
• Conflict-of-interest disclosure;
• Copyright and licensing;
• Corrections and retractions.

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Publication Delays

The journal seeks to maintain the published schedule consistently. However, publication may occasionally be delayed where necessary because of:

• Unresolved research-integrity concerns;
• Ethics or informed-consent verification;
• Author proof corrections requiring substantial review;
• Technical or platform disruption;
• Metadata or DOI processing issues;
• Production-quality concerns;
• Legal, privacy, copyright, or confidentiality matters;
• Other circumstances affecting the reliability or integrity of the publication.

The journal will not accelerate publication in a manner that compromises peer review, editorial standards, research integrity, or the accuracy of the Version of Record.

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Summary of the Annual Publication Cycle

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Schedule Review

The journal may revise its publication schedule where necessary because of changes in publication volume, editorial capacity, production infrastructure, indexing requirements, or the development of the journal.

Any material change to the regular publication frequency or annual issue schedule will be announced on the journal website and reflected in the current version of this policy.