BMJ editors treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents, which means they will not divulge information about a manuscript to anyone without the authors' permission. During the process of manuscript review the following people may also have access to manuscripts:

• editors and editorial staff at the BMJ, including medical students on placement and occasional overseas visitors - usually doctors or editors from other journals
• external reviewers, including statisticians and experts in trial methods
• members of the journal's editorial committees, comprising the final stage in our peer review process for original research articles
• the only occasion when details about a manuscript might be passed to a third party without the authors’ permission is if the editor suspects serious research misconduct.