BMJ Group is among the world’s top 10 academic publishers for the influence of its research on clinical guidelines and health policy, according to its new 2026 impact report. Research published in BMJ Group journals was cited nearly 5,000 times in new and updated clinical guidelines and health policy documents in 2025.
The report also shows wider access to BMJ Group research: 83% of research articles published in 2025 were open access, Read and Publish agreements cover 231 institutions worldwide, and authors in more than 100 countries benefited from article processing charge waivers.
Research impact often takes time to emerge, added BMJ Group. This report therefore focuses on influence achieved during the past year, rather than when the underlying research was published, recognising the time needed for evidence to shape policy, clinical guidance and patient care.
The report is organised around three areas: Better evidence, better decisions and better systems. It brings together examples of BMJ Group research and clinical knowledge being used to inform health policy, clinical practice and healthcare systems around the world.
Examples highlighted in the report include:
- Global health: Five reviews in BMJ Global Health provided the evidence for WHO and Unicef’s first global guidelines on hand hygiene in community settings.
- Child safety: Research in Archives of Disease in Childhood on the risks of glycerol-containing slush drinks for young children led to changes in food safety advice and informed action across Europe.
- Healthcare AI: Google selected BMJ Best Practice, alongside NICE guidance, as the two core clinical knowledge resources used to develop and test 100 patient scenarios for its latest AMIE research.
- Content integrity and AI: BMJ Group handled 1,651 content integrity cases in 2025, with 72% identified before publication. AI disclosure questions across 49 journals also generated data from more than 25,000 research submissions, informing BMJ Group’s approach to AI in publishing.
Niels Peter Thomas, chief executive officer, BMJ Publishing, said: “The evidence environment is changing rapidly. Open access, the growth of global research, and artificial intelligence are reshaping how evidence is created, shared and used, making rigorous judgement, strong editorial standards and accountability more important than ever.”
You can read the BMJ Group 2026 impact report in full here.
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