Journal of Biomedical Informatics

The premier methodology journal in the field

The Journal of Biomedical Informatics (JBI) is the premier methodology journal in the field of biomedical informatics. JBI publishes research on new methodologies and techniques that have general applicability and form the basis for the evolving science of biomedical informatics. Papers should focus on a real-world biomedical or clinical problem, develop a novel approach to address the problem, and evaluate its appropriateness in comparison to the current state-of-the-art (SoA) methods. Involvement of healthcare professionals in motivating the work and evaluation of results is expected.

Focus Areas and Topics of Interest

JBI seeks to publish papers that make a conceptual contribution to the field, typically by describing an innovation in methodology or technique or by discussing substantive generalizable lessons that have been learned in the context of an informatics project. When a methodological contribution has a theoretical basis, that theory is an appropriate emphasis for papers as well. Research papers may also present a novel "method of methods" explaining how to apply the existing methods to a space of biomedical problems that share unique characteristics influencing the choice of methods.

JBI publishes papers on a wide range of informatics topics. However, across these topics, papers must build on deep understanding and utilization of medical domain knowledge and should consider pragmatic translation for clinical care or applications. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) clinical decision support, patient safety, natural language processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, knowledge representation for healthcare, translational bioinformatics, clinical research informatics, and clinical informatics. Additional considerations for papers in the areas of translational bioinformatics, machine learning, security and privacy are provided below. Irrespective of the topic, papers must focus on novel informatics methods and its comparison to the current approaches.

Manuscripts can be submitted in the following categories: original research, methodological review, commentaries, special communication, letters to the editor, book reviews, and editorials (see additional details on each of these categories below). Given the international readership of JBI, country-specific health systems or approaches will be considered only if they offer generalizable lessons that are relevant to the broader readership, regardless of their country, language, culture, or health system.

Specific considerations for manuscripts in certain topical areas have also been provided in recent editorials.

If you are considering an article with a focus on translational bioinformatics , please read this editorial. Biologic discoveries based on the use of routine informatics techniques may be important biologic contributions, but are not suitable for JBI. In addition, please note that JBI publishes bioinformatics papers only if they deal with issues in translational (human) science (e.g., translational bioinformatics papers).

If you are considering an article describing a new machine learning approach, please read this editorial. Machine learning papers would be considered only if the methods that are introduced demonstrate substantial novelty and advancement beyond the current SoA and their evaluation is sound and includes an assessment of the potential of the method to be used in clinical practice. For example, submissions reporting publishing marginally SoA findings without an in-depth analysis or discussion of how the methods are potentially generalizable (or applicable in a wider setting) would not be considered. Novel and important clinical problems addressed by existing machine learning methods may warrant Special Communication papers if their discussion includes novel insights or lessons learned for future research in such domains.

Authors considering an article on biomedical privacy and security, please read this editorial. To be considered, the privacy and security methods that are introduced should demonstrate substantial novelty and advancement beyond the SoA, should be specific to the biomedical informatics domain, and their practical application and/or likely real-world usefulness in the biomedical domain.

Please also note that papers related to signal processing, imaging, medical devices, or communication networks are generally considered outside the scope of the journal. To be considered, such papers must introduce novel informatics methods that build on deep understanding and utilization of medical domain knowledge and should be translatable into applications. Papers on such topics should focus on information processing and management or knowledge-based approaches.

Please also consult the editorial that explains where to direct Artificial Intelligence in Medicine-related manuscripts for peer review and possible publication, considering the different scope of the three Elsevier medical informatics journals: JBI, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine, and Intelligence-based Medicine.