Medical journals provide the latest information in best practices, but often most of their knowledge is locked behind a paywall beyond most physicians’ reach. That’s why Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library at the University of Utah created a program to give physicians in Utah free access to any medical article, according to an op-ed by Christy Jarvis, associate director of scholarly communications at the university’s library.
Physicians who work at the university already had access to journal articles, but the license the library owned was only available to the campus community. Other physicians needing to access journals like PubMed could view abstracts for free, but could not read the full paper. With 75% of its research behind paywalls and a per-article cost of $90, physicians were unable to access needed research to improve their practices.
“Research shows that patient outcomes improve when physicians practice evidence-based medicine, which relies on clinical expertise, patient preferences and the best available evidence,” Ms. Jarvis wrote. “Unfortunately, many Utah physicians lack access to this essential third component.”
Ms. Jarvis, with support from university leadership, decided to change that. Using two small grants from the Network of the National Library of Medicine, she piloted a program that allows any physician licensed in the state to register for free PubMed access through their services. The physicians submit a registration request using their physician license number, and the team creates an account in Article Galaxy, a pay-per-view article provider. From there, physicians use a customized PubMed link to view full-text articles.
It’s only five months into the pilot, but so far, more than 450 physicians from 16 counties, including 10 rural areas, have registered. Collectively, the physicians serve about 800,000 patients, nearly 25% of Utah’s population. Each month, the library receives requests for about 190 articles, all fully covered by the grant.
In the fall, the pilot is hoping to renew its service — which will cost an estimated $120,000 to $150,000 annually — and begin providing the same opportunity to nurse practitioners, physician assistants and small health system administrators. One day, Ms. Jarvis said she would also like to expand the program to physicians in other states.
