The journal's website stated:The purpose of the Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine is to apply the best tools of science and reason to determine whether hypotheses are valid and treatments are effective.

It will simply seek justified answers to two questions: "Is it true?"

"A statement "In Defence of Scientific Medicine," welcoming the founding of the journal, was signed by a long list of notable individuals, including five Nobel laureates.

The statement expressed skepticism towards alternative medicine and the need for "objective, scientific critiques" of the field.

In an editorial published on the journal's site, Sampson says that NLM director Donald Lindberg revealed that the first review of the journal had been performed by fourteen individuals or organizations who support alternative medicine.