Digital Health: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 2055-2076 · SAGE Publishing · Multidisciplinary

Half of the articles Digital Health accepted in 2025 were accepted within 133 days of submission (n = 867); the middle half took 105–168 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
133 days median
middle half 105–168 · n = 867
Acceptance → online
22 days median
middle half 16–39 · n = 867
Change since 2023
Faster than 2023: the median fell from 170 to 133 days (90% CI -43 to -31 days).
Open access · fees
Open access (DOAJ) · $2,000

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

Plan submissions to a deadline — free

How long does Digital Health take to accept a paper?

days01202403604802020: middle half 183–336 days2422020n=682021: middle half 91–262 days1702021n=862022: middle half 84–225 days1522022n=3652023: middle half 131–223 days1702023n=5152024: middle half 121–206 days1552024n=6902025: middle half 105–168 days1332025n=867
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
20258671051331682120.0%0%
20246901211552062580.0%0%
20235151311702232740.8%0%
2022365841522253306.3%5%
202186911702624.7%8%
2020681832423360.0%0%

Research articles vs reviews (2025)

Typen25th pctMedian75th pct
Research articles732105135169
Reviews13398126155

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 0% (0 articles)030–59 days: 2% (15 articles)3060–89 days: 13% (115 articles)6090–119 days: 22% (189 articles)90120–149 days: 26% (223 articles)120150–179 days: 17% (149 articles)150180–209 days: 9% (82 articles)180210–239 days: 5% (45 articles)210240–269 days: 3% (22 articles)240270–299 days: 1% (13 articles)270300–329 days: 1% (5 articles)300330–359 days: 0% (2 articles)330360+ days: 1% (7 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–2900.0%
30–59151.7%
60–8911513.3%
90–11918921.8%
120–14922325.7%
150–17914917.2%
180–209829.5%
210–239455.2%
240–269222.5%
270–299131.5%
300–32950.6%
330–35920.2%
360+70.8%

From acceptance to online publication

After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 22 days (middle half 16–39 days, n = 867).

From submission to online publication, the median was 164 days (middle half 132–204 days, n = 867).

Read these numbers carefully

  • These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
  • Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
  • Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.

Open access status and publishing fees

Open access (listed in DOAJ). Listed APC: $2,000 (DOAJ).

Institutions reported paying a median of about $1,507 per article (2023–2025, 49 reported payments in OpenAPC; converted from euros at yearly ECB average rates).

Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.

Integrity and indexing signals

Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.

Listed in DOAJYes (DOAJ record)
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025None found (the journal may be in PubMed through PubMed Central instead)
Retractions0 retracted articles among 2,605 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission0.0% of 2025 articles
Publication volume854 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+15% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Health Professions journalsMedicine journalsGeneral Health Professions journals

Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side

Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of Digital Health, 133 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
Journal of Medical Internet Research147 (2025, n = 1,461)$3,350$3,668 (134 payments)YesYes
JMIR Human Factors191 (2025, n = 240)$1,985$2,167 (43 payments)YesYes
Frontiers in Digital Health111 (2025, n = 547)≈$3,117$2,258 (40 payments)YesNo
JMIR Formative Research172 (2025, n = 862)$2,500$2,952 (65 payments)YesYes
Interactive Journal of Medical Research209 (2025, n = 78)$1,985$2,320 (11 payments)YesNo
JMIR mhealth and uhealth302 (2025, n = 243)$3,150$3,721 (25 payments)YesYes
PLOS Digital Health190 (2025, n = 262)$3,165$2,884 (25 payments)YesNo
JMIR Research Protocols163 (2025, n = 999)$1,900$2,050 (82 payments)YesYes
JMIR Nursing136 (2025, n = 52)$1,985YesYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does Digital Health take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles Digital Health accepted in 2025 were accepted within 133 days of submission (n = 867); the middle half took 105–168 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

How long after acceptance are Digital Health articles published online?

Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 22 days of acceptance (n = 867).

Does Digital Health charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: $2,000 (DOAJ).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 2055-2076; NLM ID 101690863; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 867 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: none.

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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.