NEJM Rescinds Embargo Policy Barring Physician-Focused Publications

The New England Journal of Medicine said it has rescinded its policy that cut off physician-focused publications from advanced access to embargoed articles, following a campaign by the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ).

NEJM scrapped language on its Media Center homepage that specified access for media producing content “for the public” and for freelancers writing for “non-clinical audiences.”

The change came after AHCJ sent a letter to NEJM editor-in-chief Eric Rubin, MD, PhD, pointing out that the policy was unfair and would impede the free flow of information.

AHCJ president Felice Freyer said Rubin responded immediately to the letter, telling her that it’s “important for us to help journalists tell their stories, and this [policy] doesn’t do it.”

Rubin told Freyer that NEJM would continue to require certain credentials before granting access to embargoed papers, but the rules will be applied equally to all journalists, and no publications would be discriminated against.

“I think AHCJ involvement really made a difference,” Freyer told MedPage Today. “It’s a great example of collective action and why having an association like ours can be so helpful. We can speak for the group, and it carries so much more weight.”

Dawn Peters, director of strategic communications & media relations at NEJM Group, confirmed to MedPage Today that the embargo policy was updated, and shared the statement that was provided to AHCJ.

“We value our relationship with the news media and understand that updated criteria for granting embargoed access to our content resulted in questions about the ability to deliver on our shared goals of advancing trusted and accurate medical knowledge,” it stated. “Therefore, approved news media working for daily, weekly, or monthly publications – whether they are written for the general public or clinicians – will have access to embargoed and published journal content.”

Peters noted that reporters who recently applied for credentials “and were granted access to published content may apply for embargoed access to NEJM.”

MedPage Today first reported this story last month, when some of its reporters lost access to embargoed NEJM papers after renewing their media credentials.

At the time, Peters said news outlets that report for physician readers would no longer meet criteria for embargoed access, and access would unwind as reporters apply to renew their media credentials.

The exact reason for the change wasn’t clear, but Peters said at the time that medical publishing “has changed considerably, as have our own publications” since NEJM introduced its embargoed access policy decades ago.

She noted that journal parent company NEJM Group has grown to include “several journals to which physicians and clinical professionals can subscribe.” That has happened as the number of media outlets focused on medical professionals have increased, she said.

“Much of the content in these media outlets summarize articles in our journals, tailored at a level of understanding for clinicians who can access this information directly from us,” Peters said. “We must take this into consideration when granting advanced media access to our content.”

In the AHCJ blog post, AHCJ board member and MedPage Today Washington Editor Joyce Frieden said that she “thank[s] Dr. Rubin and NEJM for listening to our concerns and ending this discriminatory policy.”

“Now the NEJM leadership and AHCJ members can continue working on our shared mission: to provide the public with accurate and meaningful information about medical research,” Frieden added.

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