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Open Athens and BMJ Impact Analytics

Open Athens and BMJ Impact Analytics

August 2024

NISO Member News

Leading global healthcare knowledge provider, BMJ Group, and experts in federated single sign-on services, OpenAthens, are excited to announce their collaboration has led to OpenAthens' advanced authentication technology on BMJ Impact Analytics.

BMJ Impact Analytics joins the growing number of BMJ Group products accessed via OpenAthens, including BMJ Journals and BMJ Best Practice. BMJ Group customers that support federated authentication can now offer their users a more simple and consistent access experience. Healthcare researchers across the world can move seamlessly between the BMJ Group suite of products with a single login. They can also access other subscribed medical resources that support the same standards-based authentication technology.

BMJ Impact Analytics is the most comprehensive tool available worldwide for tracking and sharing the real-world impact of medical and health research. Launched in 2023, BMJ Group developed the tool in collaboration with pioneering start-up, Overton. ALPSP declared the new product the winner of its 2023 Award for Innovation in Publishing. It was also a finalist in OpenAthens’ 2024 UX Award.

BMJ Group’s integration with OpenAthens offers benefits on a global scale:

  • Seamless access worldwide. Healthcare professionals can enjoy streamlined access to critical analytics and insights, enhancing their ability to improve healthcare outcomes.
  • Security. With increases in cyber-attacks in education and research organizations, it is vital that medical and healthcare resources are kept safe. OpenAthens helps protect against this threat by working with publishers and library organizations to identify and act on any signs of misuse.
  • Personalization: Users can now benefit from personalization features such as saved searches and recommendations whilst protecting their privacy.
  • Enhanced efficiency. Increased efficiency with quick access to frequently updated evidence of real world impact, including citations in local guidelines and tools.

This innovative tool is valued for its ability to support academic institutions and funders in discovering where research has been cited in clinical guidance and health policies worldwide. It does this by providing citations in context and uniquely showing the impact of research on patient care (citing BMJ Group’s clinical decision support tool, BMJ Best Practice).

Michelle Phillips, senior product manager at BMJ Group, shared her enthusiasm about this collaboration with OpenAthens:

Since launching in January 2023, user feedback has been the cornerstone of our product development. We are thrilled that organisations that support federated authentication can now access BMJ Impact Analytics through OpenAthens as this will enhance our users' experience. This partnership allows us to provide our customers with seamless access to the invaluable insights that BMJ Impact Analytics offers.

Ian Wareing, Senior Product Manager at OpenAthens highlights the positive impact of seamless access:

Integrating OpenAthens' advanced authentication with BMJ Impact Analytics is a game-changer for medical organisations. The seamless access to critical analytics and insights allows healthcare professionals to enhance outcomes and efficiency effortlessly. This collaboration significantly supports our mission to remove barriers to knowledge and leads to better patient care by leveraging comprehensive data on medical research impact.

This collaboration underscores both companies' commitment to leveraging innovative solutions to support the healthcare community.