Format your manuscript to the Medical Care requirements — abstract, numbered Vancouver style references, and required declarations — and submit through Editorial Manager without a formatting rejection.
4.5
Authored by Sumalatha Gangadhar | Published on 19 August, 2026
A strong study can still bounce at Medical Care before review if the manuscript ignores the journal’s formatting requirements. This template is built around Med Care’s actual requirements — its abstract rules, numbered Vancouver style references, and the required declarations — so your submission clears screening on the first pass. Everything below tracks the Med Care author guidelines; check it directly if anything looks out of date by the time you submit.
It’s a manuscript shell set up to Med Care’s specifications for health services research and health policy. Medical Care is published by Wolters Kluwer (Lippincott) on behalf of the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association. The shell covers the title page, the abstract, a body in Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) order, and a reference list in numbered Vancouver style.
Start with the title page (authors, affiliations, and ORCID iDs). The abstract is a structured abstract per the author guidelines. The body follows Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD), and the reference list uses numbered Vancouver style. Close with the declarations block: conflict of interest, funding, ethics approval and consent, and data availability.
Beyond that, match your article type’s specific limits rather than assuming the defaults apply, keep numbered Vancouver style formatting consistent from the first draft, and submit only through Editorial Manager — email submissions aren’t processed.
The shell mirrors what Med Care’s editorial staff check first: abstract format and length, numbered Vancouver style reference formatting, and a complete declarations block. For the journal’s full aims and scope, see the Med Care journal home page. Med Care offers an open-access option; check the current article-processing charge and any waiver before you commit. Manuscripts go in through Editorial Manager, which also tracks your paper through peer review.
| Element | Med Care requirement |
|---|---|
| Abstract | a structured abstract per the author guidelines |
| Main text | Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion (IMRaD) |
| Declarations | Conflict of interest, funding, ethics approval and consent, and data availability |
| Figures / tables | Captioned, cited in order; check format and resolution rules in the guide |
| Supplemental | Large datasets, extra tables, code — uploaded separately and cited in text |
| Submission | Editorial Manager |
Read the Med Care author guidelines once before drafting and once before upload. Draft the abstract after your results are stable so it matches the paper. Set numbered Vancouver style as your reference style before adding a single citation — retrofitting it later is where errors creep in.
Skim two or three recent Med Care papers to calibrate depth, structure, and figure style. State your contribution in the first two paragraphs, not on page ten. Write a data-availability statement that names a real repository rather than a placeholder, and disclose any preprint or conference version with identifiers in your cover letter. Confirm current open-access pricing and any institutional agreement before committing to a fee.
Do one focused pass against the Med Care author guidelines: scope fit, abstract format, length, numbered Vancouver style references, required declarations, and figure quality. Then submit through Editorial Manager.