A preprint is defined as a version of a scholarly paper that precedes formal peer review and publication in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal.

HPR allows authors to submit preprints to the journal. Such submissions are not treated as duplicate submissions or duplicate publications. HPR recommends that authors disclose the preprint's DOI in the letter to the editor during the submission process. Otherwise, the manuscript may be flagged by plagiarism detection programs—such as Similarity Check (Crosscheck) or Copy Killer. Preprint submissions will undergo the same peer-review process as a standard submission. If the preprint is accepted for publication, authors are advised to update the preprint with a link to the published article in HPR, including its HPR DOI. It is strongly recommended that authors cite the published HPR article instead of the preprint in their future submissions.