The BMJ website is temporarily Open Access
Just to let anyone interested know, that the BMJ website has recently been revamped.
During the modification, some articles 'disappeared' and I was discussing that with its letters editor, when I noticed that some of the articles I'd wanted to read but had not been able to previously (because they were 'permission needed' - in other words, access was by subscription) had become open access.
After some 'looking into this' the Letters Editor told me in an e-mail yesterday (which I've only just opened), that the website has been made open for 'a month'.
I'm not sure exactly how long that means - it could mean until the end of July - but until then, anybody can browse the BMJ website and read (and usually download as PDF files) its articles.
The BMJ homepage is at;
or you could look at:
Hi Mike
That's really interesting and I'll certainly take advantage of the open access. Many thanks for alerting us.
Liz
Hi Liz,
Unless it changes, there is a part of the BMJ website which has always been 'open' and is often very interesting - the comments to published articles, which the BMJ calls 'rapid responses', and in which people debate the articles, can be read by anyone (even when the actual article itself was 'closed access'). And, indeed, anyone can submit a rapid response as well (which will be published it it get past the Letters Editor): the BMJ approves of debate, so you can also submit a comment about a response someone else has sent in.
For example, at present there are a series of responses to an editorial piece about whether assisted-dying should be legalised (topical because of Lord Falconer's current Bill) at:
http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g4349/rapid-responses
You can click on a 'like' button for the responses, and judging by the numbers of 'likes' the majority of doctors (I'm assuming that most readers of the BMJ are doctors) are against assisted-dying, although the resistance is by no means universal, with a significant number of writers in favour of legalising assisted-dying. That particular debate is very 'fixed and polarised' - but I've used the 'theme', to sneak in two slightly different points as rapid responses.
A less controversial, and almost 'tutorial-like' series of rapid responses (only 8 in total - 2 were mine) about the problems for care of the dying patient in the community can be found at: