1. Do you have a competing interest that prevents you from handling the manuscript? If you have a competing interest with the manuscript or someone on the author list, please declare this to the Editorial Office when first assigned and the manuscript will be reassigned. More information on identifying competing interests can be found in our editorial policies.
2. Does the manuscript appear sufficiently sound to proceed to peer review? If not, please provide comments to the authors to explain your decision to reject without peer review. If you feel that a manuscript could be revised to address your concerns then you can request that the authors revise the manuscript before sending for peer review.
3. Does the manuscript appear to fulfil the interest criteria for the journal? BMC Medicine is the flagship medical journal of the BMC series, publishing original research, commentaries and reviews that are either of significant interest to all areas of medicine and clinical practice, or provide key translational or clinical advances in a specific field.
4. Does the quality of the English Language affect your ability to assess the scientific content? If you receive a new manuscript that requires English copy editing before you can sufficiently assess the scientific content, this can be requested from the authors as a pre-review revision.
If you are unsure on any of the points above, please get in touch with the in-house Editor.
