Thanks to Margaret Winker for her message just now about PubMed and PubMed Central. This is a reminder that PubMed Central is a very important benefit of open access publishing. 'PubMed Central (PMC) is a free digital repository that archives open access full-text scholarly articles that have been published in biomedical and life sciences journals... PubMed Central is distinct from PubMed. PubMed Central is a free digital archive of full articles, accessible to anyone from anywhere via a web browser (with varying provisions for reuse). Conversely, although PubMed is a searchable database of biomedical citations and abstracts, the full-text article resides elsewhere (in print or online, free or behind a subscriber paywall).' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PubMed_Central
Can anyone say more about the use of PubMed Central as a tool for direct or indirect impact on health? I note from the NLM website that PubMed is used by about 3.5 million people every day, but cannot find figures specifically for PubMed Central. I would like to ask HIFA members: do you use PubMed Central in your work? What difference does it make? Can you give any examples?
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org