Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
International Pharmacy Acta (IPA) recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) tools can support research and manuscript preparation but also pose risks to accuracy, transparency, confidentiality, and research integrity. This policy applies to authors, reviewers, editors, and other contributors involved in the journal’s publication process. It is informed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations and publisher guidance, including Springer Nature’s policies.
AI tools, including generative AI systems and large language models, must not be listed as authors or co-authors. Authorship entails responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work. These responsibilities must be undertaken by human authors.
Authors remain fully responsible for every part of their submitted work, including material produced or modified with AI assistance. They must verify the accuracy of AI-assisted text, analyses, references, tables, and images; check that sources are genuine and correctly cited; and ensure the work contains no plagiarism, fabricated information, or unsupported claims. AI-generated content must not be treated as a primary source of evidence.
At submission, authors must disclose whether AI-assisted tools were used in preparing the manuscript. If used, the disclosure must identify the tool and describe its purpose and the parts of the work it affected. Authors should provide this information in the cover letter and in the manuscript in the appropriate section.
For AI use in data collection, analysis, image generation, or other research procedures, authors must provide sufficient detail in the Methods section to allow readers to understand what the tool did and how its output was checked. For AI assistance with drafting or revising text, authors should disclose it in the Acknowledgements or another appropriate section. Routine spelling, grammar, or copy-editing assistance that does not generate substantive content or alter the authors’ meaning need not be declared; when in doubt, authors should disclose the use.
Suggested disclosure:
“During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [name of tool and version, if known] for [specific purpose]. The authors reviewed and revised the resulting material and take full responsibility for the final content.”
AI must not be used to fabricate, selectively alter, or misrepresent data, results, references, or scientific images. If AI tools form part of the research method, their use, relevant settings or versions, and validation procedures must be reported in enough detail for assessment and, where applicable, reproducibility.
AI-generated or AI-modified figures, images, or videos must not misrepresent research data, create fictional evidence, or obscure the provenance of the material. Authors must ensure that they have the necessary rights and permissions for submitted content. Any substantive AI involvement in creating or modifying a figure must be disclosed and described. The journal may request original files or further information about how an image was produced.
Authors, reviewers, and editors must not enter confidential manuscripts, unpublished data, personally identifiable information, or sensitive patient information into AI services unless the service is authorized for that use and all applicable privacy, consent, and institutional requirements are met. Reviewers and editors must not upload submitted manuscripts or confidential editorial correspondence to public AI tools.
Reviewers must not delegate the evaluation of a confidential manuscript to an AI tool. AI may not replace the reviewer’s independent scholarly judgment. Editors remain responsible for editorial decisions and must protect the confidentiality of submissions and peer-review communications when using any approved AI-supported workflow.
IPA may ask authors to clarify or document AI use. Failure to disclose relevant use, fabricated or misleading AI-generated content, or breaches of confidentiality may lead to editorial action under the journal’s publication-ethics procedures.
Sources and scope note
This draft follows the ICMJE’s published guidance that authors disclose AI use, describe how it was used, and remain responsible for the submitted work. It also draws on the general principles in Springer Nature guidance concerning human accountability and transparency.
I could not verify from the journal pages reviewed whether IPA has a currently published, journal-specific AI policy, nor could I confirm its exact Creative Commons licence terms or any formal AI-related image rule. Accordingly, the text above is a proposed policy for IPA, not a statement that these provisions are already in force.
