Author Guidelines

OFP Information for Authors

Osteopathic Family Physician (OFP), the official journal of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, is a peer-reviewed publication whose purpose is to deliver information that helps osteopathic family physicians care for their patients, improve their practices, and better understand the activities ACOFP is taking on for their behalf.

The content areas of the journal reflect the interests of Association members in such diverse topic areas as preventive medicine, managed care, osteopathic principles and practices, pain management, public health, medical education, and practice management.

OFP editors are accepting evidence-based clinical reviews with an osteopathic component that practicing osteopathic family physicians encounter frequently.  OFP does not currently accept original research articles.

As the official journal of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, Osteopathic Family Physician publishes policy statements, communications from the Board of Governors, and notices of important Committee and Special Interest Group projects.

Submit a Manuscript

All articles should be submitted via OFP's Editorial Publishing online submission system.  Authors can upload manuscripts and accompanying materials to the site and will receive all correspondence regarding their submissions through the site. Please note that our submission process is designed for original contributions. If you feel that a specific question or text box (eg, abstract, IRB approval) does not apply to the manuscript you are submitting, please enter "NA." Shortly after submission, authors will receive an e-mail through the system prompting them to sign and return a copyright release form. Manuscripts will not move forward to review until all forms have been submitted to the OFP. Authors can check the status of their submissions online at any time. The OFP does not require authors to provide hard copies of manuscripts. However, authors are required to have electronic or hard copies of all materials cited in their manuscripts. Failure to make these materials available upon request during the publication process may result in delayed publication.

All manuscripts should be formatted in 12-point standard font (eg, Times New Roman or Arial).

Authors are encouraged to use the OFP’s "Manuscript Checklist" as a reference for required materials when preparing manuscripts for submission.

Previous Publication and Simultaneous Submission
The OFP accepts manuscripts for consideration with the understanding that they have not been published elsewhere in print or online and that they are not simultaneously under consideration by any other print or electronic publication. Any duplicative materials (eg, an abstract, material published using the same or similar data, graphic elements) should be described in the cover letter and identified as such in the submitted materials.

Because the OFP's volunteer peer reviewers invest a considerable amount of time in the peer review process, manuscripts must be withdrawn from consideration at the OFP if they (1) have already been published in any print or online medium or (2) are currently under review by another biomedical journal.

Article Categories

Peer Review and Publication Process

All manuscripts submitted to the OFP are first reviewed by the ACOFP's editors for approval to proceed to peer review. The approval to proceed to peer review submissions is then reviewed by a minimum of three peer reviewers for all article categories except for Clinical Images which are peer-reviewed by a minimum of two peer reviewers. The OFP usually notifies authors of manuscript acceptance, revision requests, or rejection within three months of acknowledging receipt of manuscripts. Authors are encouraged to contact the OFP if they have not received a status update in that period.

As a means of maintaining editorial and other quality standards, all accepted manuscripts are subject to editing and abridgment. Such editing takes place after manuscripts undergo peer review and author revision. During this editing process, the OFP's staff editors revise all accepted manuscripts for clarity, organization, grammar, conformity to house style and format, and adherence to ACOFP-preferred terminology, nomenclature, and spelling. Staff editors also conduct basic fact-checking, including verifying referenced statements. As a consequence, they may request copies of reference materials that were not provided on submission. As noted under "Manuscript Submission," failure to provide copies of referenced material upon request may result in delayed publication.

Corresponding authors will receive galley proofs of edited manuscripts for review and comment before publication. Corresponding authors are responsible for responding to peer reviewers' comments and concerns, as well as staff editors' queries. Corresponding authors are also responsible for verifying all statements in their articles, including confirming the accuracy of changes made by the OFP's staff editors. Failure to respond fully to peer reviewers' comments and concerns before manuscript acceptance, to address staff editors' queries, or to verify statements may result in publication delay.

Accepted manuscripts are scheduled for publication according to (1) article type (eg, original contributions are assigned the highest priority followed by systematic reviews), (2) the timeliness of the topics the manuscripts address, and (3) the priority assigned by the ACOFP's editor in chief and the OFP associate editor.

Authors who would like their manuscripts considered for rapid review should justify that request in their cover letters.

Authors who are considering submitting multiple manuscripts that will convey the progression of a study or that are part of a series of articles intended to be published at the same time are strongly encouraged to contact OFP staff in advance of submitting such articles.

Although tentative publication dates are provided to corresponding authors in advance as a courtesy, those dates are subject to change with due notice based on changes in priority made by the editor-in-chief, the associate editor, and the OFP Editorial Advisory Board.

Manuscript Preparation

LITERATURE SEARCH AND DATA SOURCES

In a short paragraph, please succinctly describe your search strategy, the keyword(s) used, the date(s) of the search, and the data sources you accessed in identifying the highest-quality evidence on your topic. By "data sources," we mean sources such as Cochrane, Clinical Evidence, and the National Guideline Clearinghouse. 

We strongly recommend that you search the following freely accessible evidence-based sources of information:

Websites for Sources of Evidence-Based Clinical Information:

Free Access Sites

ACCESS

McMaster University’s compendium of pre-appraised evidence to support clinical decisions.  Content is presented in a hierarchical way, with the highest level of available evidence listed first.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
In particular, see AHRQ’s Effective Healthcare Reports on various clinical topics.

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
Free for abstracts only, which in most cases provide the key findings of interest. The complete review requires a subscription. The Cochrane database contains systematic reviews of narrowly focused clinical questions.

ECRI Guidelines Trust

Repository of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, appraised using the National Academy of Medicine’s Standards for Trustworthy Clinical Practice Guidelines. 

Trip (Turning Research Into Practice)
Contains links to a wide range of journal articles, medical organization clinical guidelines, online medical references, and other sources.  A limited version is freely available; additional content requires an annual subscription.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
The premier source of evidence-based, graded recommendations for clinical preventive services.

MANUSCRIPT FORMAT

Manuscripts formatted to conform to the “Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals” are acceptable for submission. Format the manuscript with margins of 1 1/2 inches on all sides. Double-space the entire manuscript, including components, and arrange the manuscript in the following sequence:

TEXT
LITERATURE SEARCH AND DATA SOURCES 
REFERENCES
TABLES (each table begins on a new page)
FIGURES

The title page and acknowledgments should be in a separate file in order to accommodate blinded peer review.

Number pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner. To accommodate blinded peer review, place the names of authors only on the title page for each author. See the section on Submitting the Manuscript for details on how to submit your manuscript to OFP.

COVER LETTER
A cover letter addressed to ACOFP Editor in Chief must accompany each submission. The cover letter should provide the corresponding author's full name and contact information, including that author's full professional titles and affiliations, preferred mailing address, preferred e-mail address, day and evening telephone numbers. 

TITLE PAGE
In addition to providing the title of a submission, the title page should state:

1. the date of submission.
2. list the full names of all authors according to the authors' preferred usage.

1. The authors' names should include all doctoral and master degrees in the order in which they were earned.
2. For authors without doctoral or master's degrees, their highest earned academic degrees should be listed. In addition, the full professional titles and affiliations of all of the manuscript's authors should be included on the title page.
3. The order of authors should be determined by the ICMJE definition of roles and responsibilities.
4. The names of osteopathic medical students should include the OMS designation with the year of training in Roman numerals (eg, "OMS IV" should appear after the names of fourth-year osteopathic medical students).
5. 
Any manuscript submitted by osteopathic medical students, interns, or residents must include at least one trainer's name in the byline. The trainer should be a clinician or basic scientist who has a thorough understanding of the research or other work associated with the manuscript.

3. Describe any financial support provided for the work on which the manuscript is based, and grant numbers should be provided.
4. For each author, the title page should include a financial disclosure statement (eg, employment, funding, or stock ownership with the manufacturer of the product studied) and a conflict of interest statement (eg, any nonfinancial affiliation with a group that may benefit from the study, such as serving on a formulary committee). In the event that authors do not have any potential conflicts to disclose, a statement to that effect must be made on the title page. A list of potential conflicts of interest is included in the "Manuscript Checklist."
5. Authors should be aware that when a manuscript is published on the OFP website, Google Scholar and PubMed automatically provide links to other articles by the first author and the last author of the OFP article. Links are not provided to articles by the second, third, etc, authors.

ABSTRACT
An abstract is required. It should briefly state the purpose of the research, the primary results, and conclusions - between 150 and 250 words. The abstract should be able to stand alone on its own merits, separate from the article. For this reason, references should be avoided, but if necessary, they must be cited in full and without reference to the reference list. Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided. For clinical reviews, highlight key points in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition discussed.

KEYWORDS
Immediately after the Abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and", "of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. Keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

TEXT

Typical article length is 1,500 to 1,800 words, not including the title page, abstract, tables, reference list, etc.
Introduction
Authors should briefly introduce the topic of their manuscript. Introductions should end with a brief objective statement that clearly identifies the purpose of the study. 

Methods

Include all search keywords and search terms and data sites.
(For example, A PubMed search was used to identify the available studies for dates 2012-2015 using keywords.)

Results
Authors must report all outcome data and other results as they relate to the study's objectives and to the manuscript's "Methods" section. Where appropriate, authors should discuss the relevance and importance of their findings specific to osteopathic medicine.

Comment
Authors should interpret the significance of the findings as they relate to other relevant literature, describe any limitations of the study, and make recommendations for future research.

Conclusion
Authors should identify major findings as they relate to the study's purpose and the clinical applications of those findings, if appropriate. They should not consist of a summary of the study. Conclusions should be limited to 1 paragraph.

Acknowledgments
Authors should limit acknowledgments to people who substantially contributed to either the study or the preparation of the manuscript. Acknowledgments should list contributors' full names; highest earned academic degrees, including all doctoral and master degrees; and professional titles at academic and other institutions. Acknowledgments of osteopathic medical students should include the OMS designation after their names as indicated under "Title Page" of this section. 
Authors are required to obtain permission to name in print for all individuals listed in the acknowledgments section. Failure to submit permission to name individuals acknowledged in print may delay publication.

References
References are required for all material derived from the work of others and should follow the guidelines described in the 10th edition of AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors (2007). References should include direct, open-access URLs (uniform resource locators) to full-text versions of the referenced articles. A URL to an abstract in the National Library of Medicine's PubMed database does not meet this requirement. 
For journal articles that are not accessible online for free, authors must send photocopies via e-mail, fax or mail once their manuscripts are accepted for publication.  
When comparing the work of the manuscript with published studies, authors must refer to original documents rather than secondary sources.

CME QUIZ QUESTIONS
Authors should submit 1 to 4 multiple choice questions for the continuing medical education quiz and brief discussions of the correct answers.

Graphic Elements
:
Research-based submissions should include at least 1 graphic element. All accompanying tables and figures should be numbered, and they should be cited sequentially in the text.

Table headings should appear on the tables themselves. Labeled captions for figures, including illustrations, should be provided at the end of the manuscript. A full bibliographic citation should be provided in each caption for reprinted or adapted graphic elements.

All images must be submitted as separate high-resolution JPEG or TIF files. The minimum resolution that the OFP can accept is 8 inches width at 72 dpi. All patient information must be removed from or blocked out of graphic elements. Radiologic images, in particular, should be checked for patient information before being submitted to the OFP

Supplemental Material

For manuscripts based on survey data, copies of the original surveys and the cover letters that accompanied the surveys must be included with the other manuscript components at the time of submission.

For randomized controlled trials, authors must submit study flow diagrams.

Permissions

Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from publishers and authors to adapt or reprint previously published tables, illustrations, and other graphic elements. Authors must specifically obtain permission to reprint or adapt graphic elements for both the OFP's print and online versions.

Authors must also obtain written permission from patients to use their photographic images if those patients are identifiable in the images. If a patient is younger than 18 years, authors must obtain permission from one of the patient's parents or guardians. Authors are encouraged to use the OFP's patient-model release form for this purpose. 

Authors must submit signed permissions from publishers, authors, and patients once their manuscripts are accepted for publication in the OFP. Likewise, authors must submit signed permission from anyone explicitly named in their studies, including named sources for unpublished data and individuals listed in the acknowledgments.

Authors serving in the US military must obtain armed forces' approval for their manuscripts and provide military or institutional disclaimers when submitting manuscripts.

Failure to submit appropriate permission forms may delay publication.

Reprints

Corresponding authors will receive copies of the OFP issues in which their articles appear. Authors who wish to receive additional copies should contact the OFP  within six months after their articles are published.

No material published in the OFP may be reprinted without the written permission of the ACOFP's executive director.

CME Credit

All DO authors of articles published in the OFP earn AOA Category 1-B continuing medical education credit for their contributions. The amount of credit varies based on the article type, ranging from 15 credit hours for writing original contributions and medical education articles to 3 credit hours for original authors responding to letters to the editor.