What is Open Access?
Open access (OA) means that published research is freely available online to anyone — researchers, clinicians, patients, journalists, and members of the public — without requiring a subscription or payment.
All MedHorizons articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. This allows anyone to read, download, copy, distribute, and build upon the work, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors.
Authors retain full copyright to their work. MedHorizons holds no exclusive rights and will never place paywalls on published content.
Why It Matters
For researchers: OA articles receive significantly more citations. Studies consistently show a 50–200% citation advantage for OA publications compared to subscription-access equivalents.
For clinicians: OA removes the barrier between published evidence and clinical practice. Physicians in any country can access the latest guidelines and trial results.
For low-income countries: Subscription-based journals are financially out of reach for institutions in many countries. OA ensures that geography and funding do not determine access to knowledge.
For public trust: Publicly funded research should be publicly accessible. OA fulfils the mandate that science supported by taxpayers is returned to society.
Article Processing Charges (APCs)
Because readers do not pay, MedHorizons recovers publishing costs through Article Processing Charges paid by authors or their funders upon acceptance. APCs cover peer review coordination, production, hosting, indexing, and long-term archiving.
Researchers from low- and middle-income countries, as classified by the World Bank, are eligible for full or partial APC waivers. No manuscript is rejected due to inability to pay. View our fee schedule →