What is the Impact Factor of PLoS Medicine?

According to the latest Clarivate Journal Citation Reports (JCR), the Journal Impact Factor of PLoS Medicine is 9.90, ranking in quartile Q1 of Web of Science (SCIE).

Is PLoS Medicine indexed in Web of Science or Scopus?

Yes, PLoS Medicine is indexed in Web of Science (SCIE, Q1 quartile). Furthermore, in Scopus (SCImago), it holds an SJR rating of 3.573 (Q1) and an H-index of 303.

Who publishes PLoS Medicine and what is the Article Processing Charge (APC)?

PLoS Medicine is published by Public Library of Science. The estimated Article Processing Charge (APC) is approximately $4,317 USD, subject to institutional waivers and corresponding author affiliations.

What is the ISO-4 abbreviation and acronym of PLoS Medicine?

The official ISO-4 abbreviation of PLoS Medicine is "PLOS MED" with common acronym "pmedicine". This standardized title abbreviation is used in citation lists conforming to IEEE, APA, Harvard, or Vancouver styles.

WoS SCIE Q1Scopus Q1SCImago #530Top JournalGold OA

PLoS Medicine

Acronym:pmedicine

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Abbreviation (ISO):PLOS MED

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Identifier (ISSN):1549-1277(Print)/1549-1676(Online)

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Publisher:Public Library of Science

Official Website Submission Portal Compare

Clarivate IF (2026)

9.9– 0

Journal Impact Factor

IF Trend↓

WoS Quartile

WoS SCIETop Tier

Clarivate WoS JCR

WoS Categories↓

JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2018–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for PLoS Medicine

WoS Q1

Annual Impact Factor Metric

Current (2026):9.9

Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q1

3.573

#530

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025

H-Index (2025)

303

303 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: SCIE / JCRTop Tier

Self-Citation Rate1%

Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)

Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.

Volume & Open AccessGold OA

299articles/year

100% Gold OA•90.27% Original Research

Aims & Scope

An influential venue for research and commentary on the major challenges to human health worldwide, PLOS Medicine publishes articles of general interest on biomedical, environmental, social and political determinants of health. The journal emphasizes work that advances clinical practice, health policy or pathophysiological understanding to benefit health in a variety of settings.

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)

MedicineBiologyPathologyInternal MedicineEnvironmental HealthPolitical ScienceLawGeneticsMathematicsSociologyChemistryStatisticsBiochemistryDemographyPsychologyEconomicsImmunologyNursingSurgeryFamily MedicinePopulation StudiesPsychiatryEconomic GrowthVirology

Primary Research Areas

Medicine General & Internal

Official Website NLM PubMed Catalog Submission Portal SCImago Profile

0 calls

Special Issues

Calls for Papers

No active Calls for Papers found for this journal.

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WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI

JCRSCIE2026

MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL

Rank16/336

IndexSCIE

JCISCIE2026

MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL

Rank13/336

IndexSCIE

Category	Index	Rank	Quartile
MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL	JCRSCIE	16/336	Q1
MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL	JCISCIE	13/336	Q1

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year

2026Latest

IF9.9

Articles / Year226

Total Citations204

2025

IF9.9

Articles / Year196

Total Citations1,611

2024

IF—

Articles / Year158

Total Citations3,023

2023

IF15.8

Articles / Year174

Total Citations5,780

2022

IF—

Articles / Year237

Total Citations11,185

Year	Impact Factor	Articles / Year	Total Citations
2026	9.9	226	204
2025	9.9	196	1,611
2024	—	158	3,023
2023	15.8	174	5,780
2022	—	237	11,185
2021	11.069	335	25,419
2020	—	344	32,179
2019	11.048	292	24,322
2018	11.675	241	31,513
2017	—	279	28,891
2016	—	274	37,417
2015	—	157	42,222

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #530Scopus Q1SCImago Profile

Scopus Coverage:2004-2026

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Scopus Broad Areas:Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular BiologyMedicine

Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q1

3.573

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q1

Citations / Doc (2 years)

8.64

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window

Estimated Publication Fee (APC)

$4,317 USD

Estimated Article Processing Charge for Open Access publication.

Estimated cost / article

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations4,980

3-Year Documents546

Citable Documents532

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)7

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate44.5%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

BiochemistryQ1

BiotechnologyQ1

Cell BiologyQ1

Medicine (miscellaneous)Q1

Molecular BiologyQ1

Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth

Self-citation: 1%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):

1区 (Zone 1)Medicine

Minor Category (Specific Field):

1区MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL

CAS Early Warning List History:

Updated annually: 2020 – 2024

2020

Not warned

2021

Not warned

2022

Not warned

2023

Not warned

2024

Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

PLoS Medicine (acronym: pmedicine, abbr: PLOS MED, ISSN: 1549-1277) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of MEDICINE, published by Public Library of Science in United States. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 9.90, ranking in quartile Q1 of Web of Science (SCIE), a Scopus SJR indicator of 3.573 (Q1), an H-index of 303.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with an annual output of approximately 299 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Gold OA model with an estimated APC of $4,317 USD. It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.