Our verification process is anchored in internationally recognised research ethics standards. We hold all submissions to the highest principles of scientific integrity.
GlobalDocsHub was established specifically to combat a growing crisis of inauthentic medical content. Every design decision — from cryptographic document hashing to multi-step physician verification — reflects our belief that ethical practice is not optional in medical science: it is the precondition for safe care.
The foundational ethical framework for medical research involving human subjects. All indexed research must demonstrate compliance with its principles of informed consent, minimisation of harm, and protection of vulnerable groups.
We adhere fully to COPE's Core Practices, including standards on authorship, conflicts of interest, data fabrication and falsification, redundant publication, and post-publication corrections.
Submissions must satisfy ICMJE authorship criteria: each listed author must have made substantial intellectual contributions, approved the final submission, and take accountability for the work.
All personal data processed by our platform — including physician credentials and document metadata — is handled in strict compliance with GDPR principles of purpose limitation, data minimisation, and transparency.
DOI registration and metadata submission follow Crossref's standards for persistent, machine-readable scholarly metadata, ensuring long-term discoverability and attribution integrity.
We support open science principles. Where permitted by the publisher, we expose open-access content and structured metadata via our API without paywalls or access barriers.
We verify physician credentials against official medical registries and institutional databases. Our process does not consider nationality, gender, or institutional prestige beyond what is required for credential validation. A verified physician from a public hospital in a low-income country receives identical platform treatment to one from a globally ranked university.
GlobalDocsHub accepts no pharmaceutical advertising, no industry sponsorship, and no revenue from publishers. Our operational budget comes solely from institutional API subscription fees. No commercial relationship influences whether a submission passes or fails verification.
If a document is found to have been fraudulently submitted, retracted by the original journal, or identified as plagiarised, we remove the verification seal and publish a retraction notice. Retraction records are permanently maintained and cannot be deleted — consistent with COPE's retraction guidelines.
Any physician or institution found to have submitted fabricated data, manipulated images, or falsified results is permanently banned from the platform. Where legally appropriate, we may notify relevant licensing bodies and regulatory authorities.
All submissions involving research with human participants, particularly vulnerable populations (children, prisoners, patients with diminished capacity), must demonstrate ethics committee approval. We reserve the right to request documentation of informed consent procedures.
We do not accept ghost authorship, gift authorship, or the omission of legitimate contributors. Disputes over authorship must be resolved by the submitting institution before we can proceed with indexing.
If you believe a verified document or physician profile contains fraudulent, fabricated, or ethically compromised content, we encourage you to report it directly to our ethics team.
All reports are handled confidentially. Reporters acting in good faith are protected from any form of retaliation through our platform.
We acknowledge all reports within 72 hours and complete preliminary assessment within 14 days.
Report received and assigned to ethics team. Submitter notified within 72 hours.
Ethics officer assesses report validity and requests supporting evidence if needed.
If prima facie concern exists, the document's verification seal is suspended pending investigation.
Consultation with the submitting physician, original journal, and independent reviewers as appropriate.
Decision issued: (a) concern not substantiated — seal reinstated; (b) concern substantiated — retraction published.
Outcome communicated to reporter, physician, and relevant institutions.
GlobalDocsHub operates under independent oversight from an advisory panel of bioethicists, legal experts in medical law, and research integrity specialists. The panel reviews our verification protocols annually and may initiate investigations independently of staff.
Panel compositions and annual review reports are published openly at /about.