The advent of the Internet and the rapid advances that are being made in the world of technology have paved the way to open access journals. As a result, there are a smaller number of hindrances to publication and greater avenues of access to those who need the information. Although there are various voices raised against the method of open access publication, especially when it comes to fields like medicine, there are facts that make it necessary for us to acknowledge that open access is important in medicine.

1. For one, knowledge, especially new findings in the medical field, is always valuable. When it is made available to all without the matter of cost posing a hindrance, it could be used to great advantages in countries where medical assistance is a minimum and where doctors and nurses have to rely on their wits to save their patients from disease and death.
2. Medical ethics have always dictated that patients are allowed to dictate their treatment, that they can either choose or refuse a particular form of care. When new information is made available free of cost, patients who are suffering from congenital diseases or their loved ones can tap this source and research the possibility of using the results to aid their cure or manage their symptoms better.
3. It promotes research and progress by encouraging scientists and researchers to publish their findings on a global scale and earn accolades for their work.
4. It provides equal opportunities for all, rather than just allow access to those who can afford it and deny it to those who cannot. After all, when the journal is going to be made available free of cost in a mere 12 months’ time, what is the necessity in asking people to pay for it during that time?
5. It promotes general awareness of the goings on in the field of medicine because people are more prone to read open access journals rather than pay to read something they may not be interested in.

In short, open access promotes progress in the field of medicine and allows people in the medical community and patients to keep abreast of the latest developments in the field of medicine.