“Unlimited Information = Better Decisions Everywhere”

“As a doctor in a developing country, I depend heavily on access to up-to-date information. Medicine is rapidly changing, and the best decision today may be outdated by evidence tomorrow.  These changes are not only new treatments and their adverse effects, but also emerging diseases and often ill-defined clinical entities. Everyday doctors, patients and health-care workers face decision-making challenges in areas such as diagnosis, treatment and cost effectiveness. Ultimately, the best decision must be made. New research on one side of the world can change a decision on patient care hundreds of miles away.

Open access does this by promoting equal access to scientific knowledge to be used by all who can use it, regardless of location. Timely access to advances in medical treatments, from case reports to randomized trials, leads to better health care. Open access also affords researchers from developing countries an equal opportunity to use, reanalyse and add to scientific knowledge. This increases visibility and encourages participation from researchers in developing countries. This has the potential to stimulate new perspectives, collaborations and analysis, including the critical links between basic and clinical medical sciences. I believe open access to research in medicine enhances the quality and productivity of decision-making in health systems globally. Open access opens the door to better decisions everywhere.”

Dr. Satish S Maharaj,

Univ. of the West Indies,

Trinidad and Tobago