I'm not a healthcare professional, so I didn't click. Which is too bad, because the video looked interesting.
I don't understand the logic of this apparently very new policy. It shows a deep misunderstanding of what it means to be a blood cancer patient in 2017. We have access to information -- lots of information. And a lot of it is crap. The VJHO has the opportunity to give patients (and not just healthcare professionals) access to that information in a way that is very easy to find and understand. Videos like theirs provide information that makes it easier for us to talk to our doctors about our conditions.
There are plenty of medical journals that are subscription-based; you can see an abstract, but not the full article, unless you pay. I completely understand that. But that's not what the VJHO is doing -- they are keeping it available for free, just telling patients that they can't come in.
That's really discouraging.
Their YouTube channel is still wide open, though. I won't post anything from it, but you might be able to find something interesting on there. (For now.)
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Update (Tuesday, Aug 15):
I wrote to the VJHO, and received a reply from their editor. He explained that contributors to the journal, and the editorial board, are concerned about non-healthcare professionals misinterpreting what they see in the videos, which has some legal implications, especially for things that involve prescription medications. I understand the legal issues, though I disagree with some of the other reasoning. Still, I respect their decision. More importantly, he said that they were planning another video channel aimed at patients and caregivers, with some input from patients. I applaud them for that, and I hope their plans for the patient-focused video channel actually happen. I'll update you when I hear more.
Bob
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