Editor—When I read the BMJ in Mexico I have access to scientific literature of high quality that is fundamental for my clinical and teaching work. Thus when I read that in January 2004 the BMJ will be accessible only on payment, I feel that I am losing one of my most important sources of knowledge.1
Figure 1.
Many doctors in the developing world do not have access to the electronic versions of medical journals (JAMA, the Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, Bone, Diabetes Care, etc). Now with this decision of the BMJ Publishing Group the BMJ is lost to us, and I think this is not just.
I would like to read in your pages that the BMJ “is one of the high quality journals that proudly continues the tradition of the free dissemination of science.”
Competing interests: None declared.
References
- 1.Delamothe T, Smith R. Paying for bmj.com BMJ 2003;327: 241-2. (2 August.) [Google Scholar]