Maximise the impact of your research

Open access publishing helps your research reach a global audience without barriers, increasing its visibility and impact. By making your work freely accessible, you can engage with a wider community and contribute to real-world advancements. Whether you need to comply with funder mandates like Plan S or boost the reach of your research, our open access options give you the flexibility and exposure you need.

Why publish open access with us?

Broad global reach, high visibility and maximum impact

We offer you a wide choice of high quality journals to choose from, including 30 fully open access journals, as well as open access options in all of our hybrid journals and in The BMJ. Our published research is frequently cited in discussions that influence public discourse and policy, making your work a key part of critical global conversations and significantly raising your research profile.

33M

views of open access content by 16M users in over 190 countries*

600K

open access articles published with 12M citations received**

6M

mentions of open access articles across social media, international news, policy documents, and academic sources***

Exceptional quality

Publishing with BMJ Group aligns your work with a credible and respected brand in medical research. Trusted by researchers and healthcare professionals worldwide, you can count on our values, rigorous peer review process, and editorial expertise to elevate your work and broaden its reach.

86%

of our indexed journals are within the top half of their specialty category, with 26% ranking in the top 10*

10th

most cited publisher in Clinical Medicine, 12th in Public Health, and 8th in Health Services Research**

Compliance with funder mandates

Our open access journals are compliant with major funder mandates, including Plan S. By choosing open access, you can meet your funder requirements while ensuring your research remains accessible to all.

85%

of funded research articles published by BMJ Group in 2023 were open access

Commitment to ethical and transparent publishing

We are dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of research and content integrity, transparency, and ethics through our clear policies, author guidance, training and expert advice to editors, production, and legal teams.

We offer open peer review in some journals, promoting transparency and giving you valuable insights into the review process.

Comprehensive author services and support

We offer you full support during your publishing journey, from assisting with manuscript preparation and submission to helping you promote your work and navigate the publication process.

Open access by specialty

Cardiology

Explore cardiology journals >

Gastroenterology

Explore gastroenterology journals >

General medicine

Explore general medicine journals >

Genetics

Explore genetics journals >

Healthcare services

Explore healthcare services journals >

Neurology

Explore neurology journals >

Oncology

Explore oncology journals >

Paediatrics

Explore paediatrics journals >

Psychiatry

Explore psychiatry journals >

Public health

Explore public health journals >

Respiratory medicine

Explore respiratory medicine journals >

Rheumatology

Explore rheumatology journals >

Sports medicine

Explore sports medicine journals >

Inspiring change through open access

Discover the success stories of authors who have published open access with us.

Impact stories from our public health journals

Including: JECH and BMJ Global Health

Impact stories from our general medicine journals

Including: BMJ Open

Impact stories from our neurology journals

Including: JNNP and JNIS

Publish your article open access with us

Watch this video to learn more about how to publish your article open access with BMJ Group.

Submit your manuscript today

Ready to share your research with the world? Submit your paper to one of our journals using an open access option.

We want outputs to reach those who will be able to use them most – not kept within Academia.

Emeritus Professor Carol Bower, Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia

For me the question is not why publish open access, but rather why not publish open access?

Robert Challen, University of Bristol

…one of the benefits of open access has meant that there has been greater accessibility of [our work] which in turn yields a greater reach.

Rebecca Masters, Public Health Wales

If you have the funds, then it’s always best to publish in an open access journal.

Professor Paul Hunter, University of East Anglia

An open access journal was chosen to ensure the findings were rapidly disseminated and consumed by everyone involved in the COVID-19 response regardless of their ability to pay.

Dr Bruce J Kirenga, Makerere University Lung Institute, Uganda

I think [open access] is a great option to increase the reach and impact of [an] article.

Dr. Christopher Kellner, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA

My research is particularly aimed at professionals working in low-income healthcare systems, so it is a necessity for it to be open access in order to reach them.

Dr. Joachim Burman, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden

I am a big believer in open science, as well as being able to write so that lay people understand one’s work – so publishing open access is a no-brainer.

Mike Trott, University of Queensland, Australia

Overall, open access publishing democratizes access to information, amplifies the reach and influence of research, and advances the collective pursuit of knowledge for the benefit of society

Professor Siew C. Ng, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Open access publications were key to information sharing during the pandemic and should be the norm moving forward with mechanisms that enable scientists from LMICs to publish their findings.

Professor Zulfiqar A Bhutta, University of Toronto

Self-archiving in a repository (Green open access)

BMJ Group has a user-friendly and relaxed Green open access policy. You will be able to comply with your funder’s or employer’s requirements when publishing with us.

Learn more about our Green open access policy.