Medico Research Chronicles, a publication by Medico Edge Publications, adheres to the guidelines set forth by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding conflicts of interest among authors.

Authors are required to disclose any financial conflicts of interest or other interests that may influence their manuscript at the time of submission. Additionally, authors should provide information on the funding sources for their research.

The journal recognizes the importance of effectively managing conflicts of interest throughout the writing, peer review, and editorial decision-making processes. It is crucial to maintain public confidence in the peer review system and the validity of published articles. Conflict of interest arises when authors, reviewers, or editors have personal or financial relationships that may inappropriately influence their decisions or introduce bias. These relationships, also known as double responsibilities, conflicting interests, or conflicting loyalties, can range from minimal to high potential for influencing judgments. While not all relationships represent actual conflicts of interest, it is essential to acknowledge the potential for bias regardless of an individual's perception of its impact on scientific judgment. Financial relationships, such as job opportunities, consulting engagements, stock holdings, honorariums, and paid expert testimony, are easily identifiable conflicts of interest and can undermine the credibility of the journal, authors, and scientific knowledge itself. Other factors that may give rise to conflicts of interest include personal relationships, academic competition, and intellectual passion.

All individuals involved in the peer review and publication process of the Anatomical Sciences Journal (ASJ) must disclose any relationships that could be considered potential conflicts of interest. Disclosure of such issues is particularly important in editorials and review articles, as biases in these types of articles can be more challenging to identify compared to original research reports. Editors may consider the disclosed conflicts of interest and financial interests when making editorial decisions. If deemed significant, the journal editors should publish this information to assist in the evaluation of the manuscript.

Conflicts of interest related to individual authors' commitments must be reported when submitting a manuscript, whether it is an article or a report. Authors have a responsibility to disclose any personal or financial relationships that may introduce bias into their work. To avoid ambiguity, authors should explicitly state whether potential conflicts of interest exist. This information should be provided on a conflict-of-interest notice page that accompanies the title page of the paper. Additional information can be included in a cover letter accompanying the paper, if necessary. Authors should also acknowledge individuals or organizations that provided written or other support and disclose the funding source for such support. If there were potential conflicts of interest involving study participants, authors should indicate whether they disclosed these conflicts in the manuscript. The decision to publish details about disclosed conflicts rests with the editors. When in doubt, it is advisable to err on the side of transparency and disclosure.

Conflicts of interest related to project support have the potential to distort or undermine research outcomes. Researchers have an ethical obligation to present research results accurately. They should not enter into agreements that compromise their access to data, independent analysis, and preparation of manuscripts. Authors should describe the role of study sponsors, if any, in the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, report writing, and decision to publish. If there was no involvement from a supporting source, authors should clearly state so.

Conflicts of interest related to commitments of editors, journal staff, or reviewers should be carefully managed. Medico Research Chronicles discourages the selection of external peer reviewers who may have apparent conflicts of interest, such as individuals from the same department or organization as the authors. Authors are encouraged to provide editors with a list of individuals they believe should not be asked to review their manuscript due to potential conflicts of interest, typically professional in nature. Authors may be asked to provide clarification or justification for their concerns when possible. This information is valuable to publishers when deciding whether to accommodate such requests.

In the event that a conflict of interest is discovered even after the manuscript has been published, authors or their representatives are requested to report it to editor@medrech.com. The alleged conflict of interest will be thoroughly investigated, which may take up to 7-10 business days. If the conflict of interest is verified, the manuscript will be promptly removed from the website and withdrawn from various databases and abstracting/indexing services subscribed to by the journal.