TY - JOUR T1 - Patient and public partnership at BMJ Open Respiratory Research JF - BMJ Open Respiratory Research JO - BMJ Open Resp Res DO - 10.1136/bmjresp-2021-001140 VL - 8 IS - 1 SP - e001140 AU - Stephen J Chapman AU - Emma Doble AU - Olivia Fulton Y1 - 2021/12/01 UR - http://bmjopenrespres.bmj.com/content/8/1/e001140.abstract N2 - Clinical care is appropriately and increasingly patient-centred, with an emphasis on patients experiencing greater autonomy for example by accessing their own health records and directly receiving their clinical correspondence.1 This central focus on the patient has not been paralleled in medical publishing, with much published research inaccessible to patients and public. Such exclusivity of published research is non-sensical and arguably unethical: an obvious example is that patients accept uncertainty and risk by participating in clinical studies, yet may then be unable themselves to access the findings. The wider public contribute to research funding through taxation but are then unable to view research findings that sit behind paywalls.2Open access medical journals have the potential to play a key role in informing and empowering patients and carers and educating the public.3 Increased democratisation of access to medical research findings allows greater transparency and scrutiny, ultimately leading to higher quality, more patient-centered research with greater benefit to society. Active patient and public engagement with research projects is now an essential requirement of many grant-awarding bodies and research ethics committees. Patient and public involvement in healthcare policy and publishing is perhaps particularly timely when considering novel models of care delivery in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. … ER -