Urgent Action Needed!

We usually don’t waste our precious doctor time on rants. We cover medical technologies, and that leaves us peaceful and content. This time we do have to bring to your attention some news that disturb us.
We have reported earlier about the proliferation of free, open-source, online medical journals. When it comes to the spread of information, the American Medical Association (AMA), however, is moving in the opposite direction.
It has come to our attention that the AMA, has quietly announced that it will make the contents of its AMNews online edition (website) available for AMA members only. Bylined as the “The Newspaper for America’s Physicians”, the AMNews was the last AMA publication with current content available online for free (for your information, JAMA, which publishes research that is mostly funded by the U.S. taxpayer, has never been available to the general public.)
AMNews is a publication of news and opinions of the AMA related to public policy issues. To find out why the decision was made, our very own Dr.O, member of the AMA, contacted Linda Smith, a senior service representative in the Department of Member Relations of the AMA. During the prolonged discussion, Mrs. Smith informed Dr.O that AMNews will now be available for $30 for a 24 hour period. When asked to name an online publication by the AMA, free for the public, that covers public health policies issues, she has referred to the main AMA website. When noted that the main byline of “The Newspaper for America’s Physicians” was no longer applicable (i.e. for members only), she said that the newspaper will still be available free to non-AMA members, but only six months after the original publication. Finally, when asked if the PDA edition through AvantGo.com (currently the exact copy of entire online edition) will still be available free of charge, she had no answer.
In our opinion, the decision by the AMA is regrettable. As AMA members, we believe that this organization has a responsibility to communicate to society the issues facing patients and physicians.
It is unfortunate that the AMA never made an effort to open the science published in JAMA to the people that directly finance the science–taxpayers like you and me. It is doubly regrettable that AMA chose to hide an important public policy journal from the public itself.
If you are as outraged as we are about this decision, please send your complaints directly to the AMA through this online feedback form. And if you are a blogger, please spread the word. Thanks.
UPDATE (5/18/05): Benjamin Mindell, editor of the American Medical News responds…
UPDATE: The following websites have joined the campaign:
1. Health Business Blog: AMA Moves from Open Access to Closed ; A strange way to repay a debt; AMA follows through on its threat
2. Medpundit: Another Good Thing Come to an End
3. Kevin, M.D.: American Medical News will soon cease to be free to the general public; The AMA takes heat from the medical blogosphere
4. GruntDoc: Stupidity or Sabotage? The AMA lets us guess!
5. Aggravated DocSurg: AMNews no longer online?
6. Blogborygmi: AMA, Premium
7. Political Calculations: Fortress Media