Top 20 Medicine Journals of 2022

Whether you are trying to decide where to publish your research findings, searching for a thought-provoking publication to share at journal club, or simply interested in exploring the latest literature, this article is likely to help you to achieve your aims. We have outlined the rankings of the best journals from the fields of General Medicine and Internal Medicine according to impact factor, Google’s h5-index, and the scoring system of the research group SCImago.

Note that this article focuses on the “general” rankings of scientific journals related to Medicine. If you would prefer to consider the rankings of journals dedicated to particular sub-topics within the field, such as oncology or transplantation, then this article may not satisfy your needs.

If the accessibility of a journal is of importance to you, keep in mind that the journals we have listed may not have open access status.

Historically, quantitative metrics such as impact factor have provided an objective method for comparing the relative influence and prestige of competing journals. However, the quality of a journal should be assessed holistically and not be based on metrics alone.

In addition to considering the data in this article, we encourage you to visit the website of each journal where you can learn about its purpose and scope, editorial board and practices, and detailed metrics beyond impact factor, which will better inform your search.

Google ranks scientific journals using the h5-index, an index that considers publications in the journal over the past 5 years and that is intended to take into account both the number and quality of publications.

Google’s h5-index value is calculated to maximize both the number of published papers and the number of citations. According to wikipedia, the “h-index is defined as the maximum value of h such that the given author/journal has published h papers that have each been cited at least h times.”

SCImago, a data science and visualization research group from Spain, has also ranked the top journals in Medicine. Their most recent release is for the year 2021.

The SCImago Journal Ranking (SJR) considers not only the number of citations but also the relative prestige of the citation sources, with greater rank enhancement provided by citations from high prestige journals. The SJR is normalized to 1 with an SJR greater than 1 indicating “above average” citation potential.

Data regarding the impact factor of each journal represents the current two-year impact factor as identified by the Journal Citation Reports. Check out our article on the history, definition, and implications of impact factor for more information on the metric.

Interested in learning how to improve the quality of your manuscript? Consider reading “How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper” (affiliate link) by Robert Day and Barbara Gastel. This engaging text has been described as “[required reading] for anybody embarking on a career in science” and “important guidance” even for accomplished scientists.

Top 20 Medicine Journals Ranked by Google (2022)

1. The New England Journal of Medicine – h5-index: 410
2. The Lancet – h5-index: 345
3. Cell – h5-index: 288
4. JAMA – h5-index: 253
5. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – h5-index: 245
6. Journal of Clinical Oncology – h5-index: 213
7. Nature Medicine – h5-index: 205
8. The Lancet Oncology – h5-index: 196
9. PLoS ONE – h5-index: 185
10. Nature Genetics – h5-index: 184
11. Circulation – h5-index: 176
12. BMJ – h5-index: 175
13. Journal of the American College of Cardiology – h5-index: 175
14. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews – h5-index: 161
15. The Lancet Infectious Diseases – h5-index: 160
16. European Heart Journal – h5-index: 159
17. Blood – h5-index: 159
18. Immunity – h5-index: 158
19. Gastroenterology – h5-index: 157
20. Neuron – h5-index: 157

Top 20 Medicine Journals Ranked by SCImago (2021)

1. MMWR Recommendations and Reports – Journal Ranking: 25.045
2. New England Journal of Medicine – Journal Ranking: 24.907
3. Nature Medicine – Journal Ranking: 24.161
4. Nature Reviews Immunology – Journal Ranking: 17.109
5. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report – Journal Ranking: 16.513
6. The Lancet – Journal Ranking: 15.652
7. Physiological Reviews – Journal Ranking: 13.021
8. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery – Journal Ranking: 11.296
9. Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease – Journal Ranking: 10.113
10. Journal of Clinical Oncology – Journal Ranking: 9.378
11. The Lancet Global Health – Journal Ranking: 8.845
12. Annals of Oncology – Journal Ranking: 8.590
13. Annual Review of Public Health – Journal Ranking: 8.451
14. Nature Reviews Disease Primers – Journal Ranking: 8.409
15. Psychological science in the public interest: a journal of the American Psychological Society – Journal Ranking: 7.972
16. NCHS data brief – Journal Ranking: 7.585
17. Accounts of Chemical Research – Journal Ranking: 7.469
18. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology – Journal Ranking: 7.450
19. Journal of Experimental Medicine – Journal Ranking: 7.265
20. Molecular Systems Biology – Journal Ranking: 6.523

Top General and Internal Medicine Journals Ranked by Impact Factor (2022)

1. BMC Medicine – Impact Factor: 8.775
2. Journal of Travel Medicine – Impact Factor: 8.490
3. Jama Network Open – Impact Factor: 8.485
4. Canadian Medical Association Journal – Impact Factor: 8.262
5. Medical Journal of Australia – Impact Factor: 7.738
6. Mayo Clinic Proceedings – Impact Factor: 7.619
7. Amyloid: Journal of Protein Folding Disorders – Impact Factor: 7.141
8. Translational Research – Impact Factor: 7.012
9. Deutsches Arzteblatt International – Impact Factor: 5.594
10. Medical Clinics of North America – Impact Factor: 5.456
11. British Journal of General Practice – Impact Factor: 5.386
12. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine – Impact Factor: 5.344
13. Panminerva Medica – Impact Factor: 5.197
14. Annals of Family Medicine – Impact Factor: 5.166
15. Journal of General Internal Medicine – Impact Factor: 5.128
16. Frontiers in Medicine – Impact Factor: 5.093
17. American Journal of Preventive Medicine – Impact Factor: 5.043
18. American Journal of Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.965
19. Journal of Personalized Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.945
20. Minerva Medica – Impact Factor: 4.806
21. Palliative Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.762
22. Annals of Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.709
23. European Journal of Clinical Investigation – Impact Factor: 4.686
24. American Journal of Chinese Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.667
25. European Journal of Internal Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.624
26. British Medical Bulletin – Impact Factor: 4.291
27. Journal of Clinical Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.242
28. Preventive Medicine – Impact Factor: 4.018
29. Postgraduate Medicine – Impact Factor: 3.840
30. DM Disease-a-month – Impact Factor: 3.800
31. Pain Medicine – Impact Factor: 3.750
32. International Journal of Medical Sciences – Impact Factor: 3.738
33. Diagnostics – Impact Factor: 3.706
34. Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine – Impact Factor: 3.671
35. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management – Impact Factor: 3.612
36. Journal of Translational Internal Medicine – Impact Factor: 3.451
37. Internal and Emergency Medicine – Impact Factor: 3.397
38. Military Medical Research – Impact Factor: 3.329

Interested in learning about the rankings of journals from other fields? Consider checking out our other journal rankings.

Read about the latest immunology research and immuno-biotech news from ImmunoFrontiers.