Re: PR's 'pit bull' takes on open access: excerpts from article in Nature Magazine

From: Peter Banks <pbanks_at_BANKSPUB.COM>
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:11:41 -0500

I am not claiming that some patients or their family members might make
not make use of PubMed.

I am suggesting that, from a public health perspective, there are far
more effective ways to help patients with the internet==and that OA
should not be promoted on the grounds of patient education. The
University of Oxford has done some excellent research on how patients use
online information&#8212;to research a diagnosis, to become empowered in
encounters with physicians, and, not least, to gain support, hope and
reassurance. The descriptive studies available on the Dipex.org Web site
give good evidence about how patients actually use the Web.

If NIH really wanted to put patients first, the money spent on PubMed
Central would be far more effectively spent on MedLinePlus and other
consumer health pages.

Peter Banks
Banks Publishing
Publications Consulting and Services
10332 Main Street  #158
Fairfax, VA 22030
(703) 591-6544
CELL (703) 254-8862
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pbanks_at_bankspub.com
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www.associationpublisher.com/blog/
Received on Mon Jan 29 2007 - 22:29:45 GMT