World Journal of Acupunture-Moxibustion adheres to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authors are required to ensure that the guidelines on ICMJE website are followed.
Patient’s privacy right should not be violated without informed consent. Authors should disclose to patients whether any potential identifiable material might be available via the Internet as well as in print after publication. Authors should not include identifying patient information—including patients’ names, initials, or hospital numbers—in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written, informed consent for publication. Identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. Authors should provide written verification that any study participants who are identifiable have been shown the final manuscript to be published. In addition, within the manuscript, authors should identify individuals who provide writing assistance and disclose the funding source for this assistance. Authors should provide written assurance to the editors that alterations do not distort scientific meaning, if identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees.
Informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt that anonymity can be maintained. It is also worth noting that complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, for example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity.
World Journal of Acupunture-Moxibustion has decided that patient confidentiality is better guarded by having the author archive the consent. Whenever an informed consent is necessary, authors will be required to provide a written statement that attests that they have received and archived written patient consent. When informed consent has been obtained, authors should include this information in the manuscript.