The ranking itself has a relatively short but consequential history. Canada’s Top Growing Companies was launched in 2019 by Report on Business magazine, the business publication of The Globe and Mail, and it evaluates participating firms on a single, transparent metric: percentage growth in annual operating revenue over a three-year period. Because the methodology is uniform across entrants, the list functions less like a subjective award and more like a quantitative snapshot of entrepreneurial momentum across industries. Companies that qualify span technology, professional services, manufacturing, healthcare, and consumer sectors, and the complete roster is published each year in both print and online editions of the magazine. For JMIR Publications, appearing on the 2026 list represents a continuation rather than a debut, as the publisher previously earned a place on the ranking, including the 2023 edition.

Leadership at the company framed the recognition in ideological as well as financial terms. “This recognition proves that independence and open science work,” said Sean Jeong, CEO of JMIR Publications. “Our growth is a direct result of the value we deliver to the scientific community. By keeping research open, transparent, and accessible, we provide a necessary alternative to large commercial publishers.” The statement positions the company’s commercial performance as evidence for a broader argument in scholarly publishing: that a journal portfolio can be financially sustainable while making its articles freely available to readers, rather than placing them behind subscription paywalls or per-article access charges.

That argument matters because the dominant business models in academic publishing have long been contested. Under the traditional subscription model, libraries and institutions pay for access to journals, while researchers typically transfer copyright to publishers in exchange for peer review, editing, typesetting, and distribution. The open access model inverts the revenue structure, shifting costs toward article processing charges paid by authors, their funders, or their institutions, while removing paywalls so that anyone with an internet connection can read the published work. Advocates of open access argue that publicly funded research should be publicly readable, that paywalls slow the diffusion of medical knowledge, and that open licensing enables text mining, reuse, and reproducibility at scale. Critics have historically questioned whether open access journals could match the revenue stability of subscription giants. JMIR Publications’ 105 percent growth figure will be read by many in the field as a data point suggesting that the open access proposition can, under the right conditions, compete effectively.

Founded around the Journal of Medical Internet Research, one of the most prominent peer-reviewed venues in the digital health field, JMIR Publications has built its portfolio specifically around research at the intersection of medicine and technology. This includes mobile health applications, telemedicine, wearable sensors, health informatics, artificial intelligence in clinical settings, and the evaluation of online health interventions. The strategic focus is notable. Digital health has become one of the fastest-moving areas of biomedical inquiry, driven by the proliferation of smartphones capable of running health applications, the maturation of machine learning methods applicable to clinical data, and the policy pressure on health systems to modernize care delivery. A publisher concentrated on this niche is effectively tethered to the growth curve of the field itself, and the company’s leadership argues that this positioning explains its trajectory.

Indeed, the company’s outlook statement links its commercial future to structural trends in research funding. As healthcare systems worldwide accelerate the adoption of digital solutions, investment in research on artificial intelligence, mobile health, and health informatics continues to increase. That expansion generates an unprecedented volume of scientific inquiry, and every new study requires validation, peer review, and dissemination. JMIR Publications says it intends to capture this rising tide by ensuring that breakthroughs in digital health are validated through peer review, published in its journals, and made accessible to the global medical community. In practical terms, the publisher acts as a filter and amplifier: rigorous review screens out weak findings, while open licensing and digital distribution ensure that accepted findings reach clinicians, policymakers, and fellow researchers without delay.

The company was emphatic that the ranking achievement is a collective one, attributing it to the network of people who power its journals. In its announcement, JMIR Publications credited the talent of its staff, the expertise of its editorial board members, and the thousands of authors who entrust the publisher with their research. It extended particular thanks to its peer reviewers, whose unpaid labor remains one of the least visible yet most essential components of the scholarly publishing system. Peer review is the mechanism by which scientific claims are scrutinized before publication, and the willingness of experts to donate their time and judgment underwrites the credibility of every journal, open access or otherwise. By acknowledging reviewers explicitly, the publisher highlighted a dependency that the entire industry shares, even as experimentation with AI-assisted screening and open peer review formats attempts to modernize the process.

The broader market context makes the recognition more than a corporate milestone. The open access movement has gained institutional momentum over the past two decades through funder mandates, institutional policies, and large-scale agreements known as transformative deals, in which consortia of libraries negotiate with publishers to flip subscription expenditures into open publishing fees. Plan S, the coordinated initiative by a coalition of research funders, requires grant-funded outputs to be openly available, and national policies in Europe and elsewhere have pushed in the same direction. Meanwhile, the rise of preprint servers has compressed the timeline between discovery and dissemination, pressuring journals to demonstrate the value they add beyond distribution. Publishers that thrive in this environment are typically those that can pair credible peer review with fast turnaround, modern digital tooling, and genuine visibility for authors. JMIR Publications describes itself as a technology organization with publishing at its core, emphasizing author advocacy, research amplification, and innovative tools that support researchers at every step of the dissemination process.

There is also a distinctly Canadian dimension to the story. The Globe and Mail ranking celebrates entrepreneurial achievement across the country, and a scholarly publisher from Toronto appearing among 377 qualifying firms underscores that knowledge industries, not only resource or consumer sectors, contribute meaningfully to Canadian growth. For the research community, however, the more consequential signal is financial. Open science has often been framed as an ethical imperative whose economics remain unproven at scale; a mid-sized independent publisher doubling its revenue in three years, without the subscription back catalogue or institutional contracts that shelter the largest incumbents, offers a working counterexample. The challenge ahead for JMIR Publications, as for the open access movement generally, is to convert growth into durable infrastructure: sustaining rigorous review, keeping costs transparent, and ensuring that the accelerating output of digital health research reaches the clinicians and patients who ultimately depend on it. On the evidence of the 2026 ranking, the market is currently voting in favor of that model.

Subject of Research: Recognition of open access digital health publisher JMIR Publications in The Globe and Mail's 2026 Canada's Top Growing Companies ranking

Article Title: JMIR publications named one of Canada’s top growing companies by The Globe and Mail for 2026

Article References: JMIR publications named one of Canada’s top growing companies by The Globe and Mail for 2026. (n.d.). Original publication

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: Not provided

Keywords: JMIR Publications, open access publishing, Canada's Top Growing Companies, The Globe and Mail, digital health, scholarly publishing, revenue growth, peer review, Journal of Medical Internet Research, open science, health informatics, artificial intelligence

At the forefront is the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), JMIR Publications’ flagship journal, which continues to set the benchmark for quality and influence in digital health. Registering a JIF of 6.0, JMIR holds a distinguished Q1 ranking in both the "Health Care Sciences and Services" as well as the "Medical Informatics" categories. With over 50,000 citations within the 2024 impact factor tracking window, it stands as the most cited journal in these disciplines, underscoring its pivotal role in shaping the intersection of medicine and digital technology.

Two other journals within JMIR’s catalog have emerged as leaders in their fields, securing top rankings that affirm their scholarly prestige. JMIR Aging maintains its position as the highest-ranked journal in the field of Gerontology, boasting an impact factor of 4.8. Meanwhile, JMIR Medical Education has made a remarkable debut with an inaugural JIF of 12.5, earning the top spot in the “Education, Scientific Disciplines” category. Its focus on emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and large language models, positions it at the cutting edge of medical education research in an era increasingly shaped by digital innovation.

The portfolio further exhibits outstanding growth among several journals that have seen a notable increase in citation metrics this year. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, with an impact factor of 6.2, has attained a ranking within the top ten journals dedicated to medical informatics and healthcare services, signaling its importance in mobile and wearable health technologies. Similarly, JMIR Mental Health has achieved a JIF of 5.8, ranking in the top 10% of psychiatry journals globally and marking its prominence in digital mental health interventions.

In addition to these standout journals, a cohort of JMIR’s specialized titles continues to contribute significantly to their respective fields, evidenced by upward trends in their impact factors. Fields such as public health surveillance, biomedical informatics, and human factors in healthcare technology are represented by journals that cluster in competitive quartiles, signaling consistent academic interest and validation of the research they publish.

JMIR Publications is also proud to announce the successful launch of six new journals receiving inaugural impact factors. Among these, JMIR Nursing impressed by entering the top decile of nursing journals immediately, with a JIF of 4.0. JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies, focused on innovations in rehabilitation science and assistive devices, debuted with a solid impact factor of 3.0, indicating rapid recognition in the rehabilitation research community. Additional titles such as JMIR Diabetes and JMIR Cardio provide emerging platforms for targeted medical specialties within digital health.

The significance of these achievements extends beyond statistics, highlighting JMIR’s dedication to an open access model that promotes rapid and equitable dissemination of scientific knowledge. By ensuring that the latest digital health research is freely accessible, JMIR Publications cultivates a comprehensive ecosystem combining rigorous peer review, technological innovation, and author advocacy to amplify research impact worldwide.

According to Tiffany I Leung, MD, MPH, FAMIA, JMIR Publications’ scientific editorial director, “These impact factor results are testament to the high-quality, innovative scientific contributions from our authors. Our commitment to open access ensures that vital discoveries in digital health reach clinicians, policymakers, and researchers without barriers, ultimately advancing health and well-being globally.” Such a statement echoes the publisher’s vision to transcend traditional scholarly metrics while emphasizing the societal relevance of accessible research.

Complementing this vision, Gunther Eysenbach, MD, MPH, FACMI, founder and publisher of JMIR Publications, articulated the strategic ambition to develop leading journals covering technology-driven innovation across all medical disciplines. This holistic portfolio approach is crafted to align with the pervasive influence of digital health and artificial intelligence on modern medicine, ensuring that each specialty benefits from tailored, cutting-edge research dissemination.

Technical nuances behind the 2025 impact factor calculations reveal that certain journals, notably JMIR Medical Education and JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies, experienced delays in indexing within the Clarivate Web of Science database. Despite this, official projections affirm their inclusion in forthcoming Journal Citation Reports updates, signifying confidence in the accuracy and validity of the metrics assigned. Such transparency around data curation enhances trust within the scholarly community.

The growing body of impact metrics places JMIR Publications firmly within a competitive landscape, alongside its recent success in Scopus CiteScore rankings, where 26 JMIR journals attained scores, and 12 were listed in the top quartile (Q1). This multi-metric approach underscores the publisher’s commitment to providing comprehensive, reliable, and nuanced indicators of journal performance and influence.

Importantly, JMIR Publications advocates for a broader conception of research impact, encouraging the integration of alternative metrics such as author satisfaction surveys, Altmetric scores, and other open science indicators alongside traditional impact factors. By endorsing guidelines such as the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), JMIR fosters a scholarly culture that balances quantitative citation data with qualitative and societal value assessments in journal evaluation processes.

As JMIR Publications continues to expand and refine its portfolio, its open access platform drives forward evidence-based digital health practices and innovations that hold promise to transform healthcare delivery globally. The 2025 impact factor release is a milestone that both celebrates past accomplishments and energizes future efforts to harness technology and scholarship for improved population health outcomes.

In essence, the new Journal Impact Factor results solidify JMIR Publications’ position as an influential force in the global digital health research ecosystem. Its journals offer researchers advanced avenues for thought leadership and collaboration, while providing practitioners and policymakers with timely access to groundbreaking studies in medical informatics, mental health, aging, and numerous other specialized domains.

The synergy between open access publication, rigorous peer review, and technological innovation positions JMIR Publications as a model for future scholarly communication, optimizing the translation of research into real-world health solutions. As digital health continues to evolve rapidly, JMIR’s growing portfolio will likely remain at the forefront of this dynamic field, championing transparency, accessibility, and impact for years to come.

Subject of Research: Digital Health, Medical Informatics, Open Access Publishing

Article Title: JMIR Publications Achieves Major Growth with 21 Journals Receiving 2025 Impact Factors, Demonstrating Open Access Success

News Publication Date: June 20, 2025

Web References:

• JMIR Publications: https://jmirpublications.com/
• Journal Citation Reports 2025 from Clarivate: https://clarivate.com/academia-government/scientific-and-academic-research/research-funding-analytics/journal-citation-reports/

Image Credits: JMIR Publications

Keywords: Digital Health, Medical Informatics, Open Access, Journal Impact Factor, Digital Medicine, Medical Education, Gerontology, Mobile Health, Mental Health, Rehabilitation Technologies, Nursing, Artificial Intelligence