The Georgian Medical Journal was founded in 2020 as an open-access, peer-reviewed publication for Georgia and the Caucasus region. Five years in, Prof. Giorgi Pkhakadze reviews what it has built — and where it goes next.
“Georgia did not need another medical journal. It needed one that was Georgian — built here, indexed here, cited here, and read here. The GMJ was founded to fill that gap.”
Pkhakadze G. GMJ Founding Statement. Tbilisi: GMJ; 2020.[1]
Introduction
The Georgian Medical Journal (GMJ) was established in 2020 as the first Georgian-led, internationally-indexed, open-access medical journal, published by the Public Health Institute of Georgia (PHIG). As of 2025, GMJ carries the ISSN 3088-4322, is a Crossref member with DOI prefix 10.66636 (member #56297), and is in active indexing discussions with SCOPUS, DOAJ, and PubMed Central.[1,2]
This review, published in the journal’s fifth year, examines what GMJ has built in terms of authorship, citation impact, editorial quality, and regional influence.
| Indicator | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 (YTD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submissions received | 24 | 38 | 61 | 84 | 72 (annualised: ~100) |
| Articles published | 12 | 21 | 34 | 48 | 38 (annualised: ~60) |
| Acceptance rate (%) | 50% | 55% | 56% | 57% | 53% |
| Countries represented (authors) | 3 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 14 |
| Total citations (Crossref) | 8 | 34 | 89 | 162 | 204 |
| Open-access downloads | 1,200 | 4,800 | 12,400 | 28,600 | 19,400 (YTD) |
| Average time to decision (days) | 42 | 38 | 31 | 28 | 26 |
Sources: GMJ editorial records 2025; Crossref citation database 2025.[1,2]
Editorial Scope and Quality
GMJ publishes original research, systematic reviews, case reports, and public health analyses with primary focus on Georgia, the South Caucasus, and Eastern Europe. Peer review is double-blind, with a minimum of two external reviewers per manuscript. The journal’s editorial board includes 28 members from 11 countries, with representation from WHO, leading European universities, and Georgian academic institutions.[1]
In 2024, the journal introduced a rapid communication track for public health surveillance findings, reducing time-to-publication for epidemiologically urgent submissions to 14 days — a capacity tested during Georgia’s 2024 respiratory illness season, when three early outbreak characterisation reports were published within days of NCDC notification.[3]
Figure 1. GMJ Submissions and Publications Trend 2020–2025
*2025 annualised projection. Source: GMJ editorial records 2025.[1]
| Index/Database | Status | Action Required | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crossref DOI registration | Active since 2021 | Maintain membership | Ongoing |
| DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) | Application submitted 2024 | Meet editorial criteria | 2025 |
| PubMed Central (PMC) | Not yet applied | MEDLINE criteria preparation | 2026 |
| SCOPUS | Not yet applied | Two-year citation track needed | 2026–2027 |
| EBSCO Academic | In negotiation | Metadata submission | 2025 |
| Index Medicus for the Eastern Mediterranean (IMEMR) | Not applicable | N/A | N/A |
| Google Scholar | Indexed (auto) | Maintain metadata quality | Ongoing |
Sources: GMJ editorial office 2025.[1,2]
Figure 2. GMJ Author Countries 2024 (% of accepted manuscripts, n=48)
Source: GMJ editorial records 2024 (n=48 accepted manuscripts).[1]
Conclusion
Five years after its founding, GMJ is a functioning, growing, regionally influential open-access journal with improving bibliometric indicators and a clear indexing pathway. Its most important strategic priority for 2025–2027 is SCOPUS indexing, which would dramatically increase citation visibility and make GMJ the first SCOPUS-indexed medical journal in Georgia. PHIG’s investment in GMJ as an institution — not merely as a publication — reflects the conviction that a functional scientific publishing ecosystem is a necessary condition for a credible national public health research infrastructure.
References
- Pkhakadze G. Georgian Medical Journal: Five-Year Review 2020–2025. Tbilisi: GMJ/PHIG; 2025.
- Crossref. Member Profile: Georgian Medical Journal (Member #56297). Available from: https://www.crossref.org
- National Centre for Disease Control and Public Health. Rapid Epidemiological Reports Published in GMJ 2024. Tbilisi: NCDC; 2024.
- Björk B-C, Solomon D. Open access versus subscription journals: a comparison of scientific impact. BMC Med. 2012;10:73. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-10-73
- Piwowar H, Priem J, Larivière V, et al. The state of OA: a large-scale analysis of the prevalence and impact of open access articles. PeerJ. 2018;6:e4375.
Public Health Institute of Georgia
