Use of Freedom of Information Act to produce research on the cheap?

Breathnach, Aodhán S.; Riley, Peter A.; Planche, Timothy

doi:10.1136/bmj.d6129

Cited by 9 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…While the use of FOI may be financially beneficial for those performing research, questions have been raised about the collective cost of the FOI Act 26 27. Cost is one of the exemptions made in the Act, where a request must cost under £600 to respond to 1.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, Bridgewater et al 39 demonstrated that publication of surgeon-specific mortality data following the Bristol inquiry led to a reduced mortality in cardiac surgery. A greater transparency in a wide range of medical specialities may well have a similar impact and FOI could be an important tool facilitating such transparency as part of a wider information revolution 26 40…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The UK Freedom of Information Act (2000) in healthcare research: a systematic review

2013

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ObjectivesTo assess the use and utility of the Freedom of Information Act (2000) in healthcare research since 2005 and to determine if any particular feature of studies found led to greater data acquisition.DesignPRISMA compliant systematic review.ParticipantsAn extensive literature search was performed of EMBASE, MEDLINE, CINAHL, psychINFO, BNI, AMED, HMIC and Health business elite databases from January 2005 to January 2013 using terms ‘Freedom of information’, ‘Freedom of information act’ and ‘Freedom of information act 2000’. Papers were considered for publication if they described utilising the UK Freedom of information act to gather data for healthcare research. 16 articles met these criteria.Primary and Secondary outcome measuresPrimary outcome was the number and characteristics of studies utilising the Freedom of Information Act to collect the data for healthcare research. Secondary outcome measures were any features that improved data acquisition rates (including to whom the request was made, the number of questions asked per request, etc.)Results16 articles described utilising the Freedom of Information Act for healthcare research, and these investigated a broad range of topics. The median number of requests made was 86 (range 1–172), the total number of requests was 1732. A total of 15 817 pieces of data were retrieved by all studies. The amount of data collected was defined as the number of questions asked multiplied by the number of full responses. A median of five questions were asked per study (range 5–6.5) and the overall response rate was 86%. The National Health Service litigation authority responded to 100% of requests, while Primary Care Trusts had the lowest response rate of 81% for healthcare bodies. A positive correlation between number of requests made and data obtained (0.508, p<0.05) and number of requests made and increased response rate (0.737, p<0.01), both reached the statistical significance.ConclusionsResearchers should make greater use of the Act to access the information they need that is not otherwise disclosed. We discuss the issues with the research utilising the Act and how future research of this type could be optimised.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The UK Freedom of Information Act (2000) in healthcare research: a systematic review

2013

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“…Using calculations indicated by previous commentators in this field, we estimate processing our FOI requests cost the combined healthcare services over ‘…£75,150, equivalent…a consultant's yearly salary…’ 6. This figure is not small, yet this commentary implies that all NHS Trusts responding reached the maximum cost limit of £450 for public authorities.…”

Section: Dementia and Hip Fracture: Global Issues Needing Global Answersmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…For some an FOI request ‘…allows researchers to force other clinicians to provide data…’ 6. Hence, as part of a publicly accountable body the individual is obliged by law to comply.…”

Section: Dementia and Hip Fracture: Global Issues Needing Global Answersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of FOI requests by academics in healthcare research has been questioned with regard to economic detriment, lack of potential for scientific gain and ethical issues around the voluntary nature of compliance 6. In a systematic review of FOIs in healthcare research, the authors conclude with a call for greater use of FOIA by researchers 7.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Freedom of Information Act: scalpel or just a sharp knife?: Table 1

et al. 2016

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The concluding statement of the Burns Commission, established to evaluate whether changes are needed to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), ruled no major legislative changes were required. As such Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation still enables anyone to obtain information from public authorities. In this brief report article we explore arguments regarding FOI as an instrument for healthcare research using an international research programme as a case study.

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Secrecy and ‘Studying-up’

Sheaff

2019

Secrecy, Privacy and Accountability

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Use of Freedom of Information Act to produce research on the cheap?

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

The UK Freedom of Information Act (2000) in healthcare research: a systematic review

The UK Freedom of Information Act (2000) in healthcare research: a systematic review

Freedom of Information Act: scalpel or just a sharp knife?: Table 1

Secrecy and ‘Studying-up’

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