The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) rescinded a recent policy that limited advanced access to embargoed journal articles, particularly for publications with primarily physician-based readership. The rescindment followed a campaign by the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ).
AHCJ sent NEJM editor-in-chief Eric Rubin, MD, PhD, a letter explaining that the policy would limit the free flow of information.
NEJM noted it would continue to require specific credentials to gain access to embargoed content but would not discriminate against physician-focused publications.
“We value our relationship with the news media and understand that updated criteria for granting embargoed access to our content resulted in questions about the ability to deliver on our shared goals of advancing trusted and accurate medical knowledge,” said Dawn Peters, director of strategic communications and media relations at NEJM Group in a statement to AHCJ. “Therefore, approved news media working for daily, weekly, or monthly publications — whether they are written for the general public or clinicians — will have access to embargoed and published journal content.”
Source: MedPage Today, May 21, 2024.
