Publishers, patient advocates and fiscal conservatives are balking at a government transparency plan on healthcare research, claiming it would put publications out of business, hamper medical research and waste taxpayer money. The public-comment period closed this week on a National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposal that would create a database that includes all NIH-funded research studies. These data would have to be made available no later than six months after their publication. The NIH said the plan would make research funded through taxpayer money available “in a timely fashion to other scientists, healthcare providers, students, teachers, and the many millions...
