Manuscript Submission

Most articles in OFP are evidence-based clinical reviews with an osteopathic component that practicing osteopathic family physicians encounter frequently.

• If you are preparing a submission that isn't a review article, please refer to our article categories for specific guidelines.
• For a high-level overview of the publication process, see our information for authors.
• Check our journal policies for more information on topics like conflict of interest, permissions, and data retention.

Make a new submission or view your pending submissions.

Manuscripts formatted to conform to the “Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals” are acceptable for submission.

• All manuscripts should be formatted in 12-point standard font (e.g., Times New Roman or Arial).
• Double-space the entire manuscript, including components.
• Format the manuscript with margins of 1 1/2 inches on all sides.
• Authors are encouraged to use the OFP’s Manuscript Checklist as a reference when preparing a submission.
• Number pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner. To accommodate blinded peer review, do not include the author names in the main manuscript file.
• The title page and acknowledgments should be in a separate file in order to accommodate blinded peer review.
• Arrange the main manuscript file in the following sequence:

TEXT
LITERATURE SEARCH AND DATA SOURCES 
REFERENCES
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS

1. 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, and preferred mailing address, e-mail address, and phone number. 

2. Title Page

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

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

• The authors' names should include all doctoral and master degrees in the order in which they were earned.
• 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.
• The order of authors should be determined by the ICMJE definition of roles and responsibilities.
• 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).
• 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, including any grant numbers.

4. For each author, include a financial disclosure statement and a conflict of interest statement, referring to our guidelines. 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.

5. 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.

3. Abstract and Keywords

An abstract is required for review articles and brief reports. It should briefly state the purpose of the article, 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. Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided.

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 used. Keywords are used for indexing purposes.

4. Main Manuscript File

A. Text

For review articles, the typical article length is 1,500 to 1,800 words, not including the title page, abstract, tables, reference list, etc. For lengths and guidelines for other article types, see our article categories.

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’s 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.

B. 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:

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.

C. References

References should follow the guidelines described in the 10th edition of the AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors (2007). References should include direct URLs to full-text versions of the referenced articles, as well as DOIs whenever possible. Reference call outs should always be in numerical order in the manuscript: for example, reference 11 should not come before reference 10. 

D. Graphic Elements

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.
• Tables and text-based figures should be submitted as part of the main document in the native file format (for instance, a manuscript submitted as a Word doc should have tables created in Word).
• All other images must be submitted as separate high-resolution JPEG or TIF files. 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.

5. CME Quiz Questions

Submissions should include 1 to 4 multiple choice questions for the continuing medical education quiz and brief discussions of the correct answers.

6. 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.

7. Permissions

Permissions must be included for all images and third-party material. See “Permissions” on our Journal Policies page.

Submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines may be returned to authors.