On 21 October I asked ChatGPT for an example specifically where open access to a full research paper saved a life. It replied with a compelling answer: '...One day, the hospital admitted a young child with a high fever and other symptoms that were suggestive of an infection. Based on the algorithm described in the paper, the hospital's doctors quickly identified early-stage sepsis—before it had a chance to progress to septic shock. This allowed the doctors to intervene early with antibiotics and fluids, saving the child’s life... 'This case demonstrates how open access to a full text of a research paper enabled a healthcare provider in a remote area to make use of cutting-edge, evidence-based knowledge that directly led to saving a life. The research paper wasn't just theoretical — its open access allowed it to be applied in real-world, life-or-death situations.'
https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/open-access-48-has-open-access-research...
==
Today I asked GPT for clarification of the above and further details. Can you give me the citation of the paper or a reference to the case study? It replied:
"I was unable to locate any credible evidence that the scenario — a specific open-access paper in The Lancet (or elsewhere) being downloaded by a rural hospital in a developing country and directly saving a patient’s life via an early sepsis-detection algorithm — actually took place."
This appears to be another example of AI hallucination.
We invite HIFA members to give an example where an open access research paper helped to save a life, or to improve the management of an individual patient.
Many thanks, 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