BMJ's Bold Move: Paying Patient Reviewers to Spark a Revolution in Patient Engagement and Authorship

If you’ve ever been a patient or a caregiver—or even just listened to someone share their healthcare journey—you know this truth: no one understands a condition better than the people living it. Patients, caregivers, and advocates are experts in their own right, bringing perspectives that no medical textbook can fully capture.

That’s why The BMJ’s decision to compensate patient and public reviewers with either ￡50 or a 12-month subscription to another journal feels like such a game-changer. For years, patient voices have been invited into research discussions, but now, this move puts action behind the sentiment, offering meaningful recognition for the time, effort, and expertise these individuals bring.

It’s a first step—but a crucial one. Here’s why initiatives like this are so important and how they can spark much-needed change across the healthcare and research worlds.

Validating the Patient’s Role as an Expert

Imagine lending your lived experience to improve research and not getting so much as a “thank you.” For too long, patient involvement has been seen as optional or honorary, with little tangible reward.

Compensating patient reviewers sends a clear message: their insights matter, and their time has value. This isn’t charity—it’s equity. When patients review and co-author papers, their experiences shape research to better reflect the realities of those it aims to help. It’s not just good for the patient community; it makes the research itself more relevant and impactful.

Broadening the Spectrum of Voices

Right now, most patient reviewers at The BMJ are women from the UK and the US. While that’s a great starting point, healthcare affects everyone, everywhere. To tackle global health issues, we need insights from patients with diverse experiences—whether they’re from a rural village in India, an urban center in Brazil, or anywhere in between.

Offering compensation isn’t just a nice gesture; it removes barriers. It allows people from underrepresented communities—who may not otherwise have the means or time—to share their invaluable perspectives. This step is a bridge to a richer, more inclusive dialogue about healthcare.

Making Engagement Sustainable

It’s one thing to ask patients and caregivers to share their stories or review research. It’s another to ensure they can do so consistently without burning out or feeling undervalued.

Compensation makes this process sustainable. It recognizes that patient engagement is work—work that requires emotional investment, time, and effort. By paying patients, The BMJ is setting a precedent that could ripple out to other journals, research organizations, and healthcare initiatives.

Elevating Patient Authorship

Have you noticed the growing buzz around patient authorship? It’s no longer enough for patients to be passive contributors. Co-authoring papers elevates their voices, putting their experiences front and center.

Think about it: when patients are involved from the beginning, the research isn’t just about them—it’s by them. And if patients are co-authoring papers, doesn’t it make perfect sense for them to review other papers too? The BMJ’s move makes that connection crystal clear, validating patient involvement at every level of the process.

Changing the Culture of Research

What excites me most is the potential for this initiative to spark a cultural shift. For years, The BMJ has been a leader in involving patients in research, amassing over 2,600 patient and public reviews since 2014. This latest step cements their commitment and challenges other organizations to follow suit.

Compensating patient reviewers isn’t just about fairness—it’s about showing the world that patient expertise is essential to good research. When one influential journal takes a stand, others take notice. The ripple effect can transform how the entire healthcare system values patient engagement.

Let’s Keep the Momentum Going

We’re at a turning point. The BMJ’s decision is bold, but it’s just the beginning. Now, it’s up to all of us—patients, advocates, researchers, and healthcare leaders—to keep the momentum going.

Patient voices are not just an add-on to research. They’re foundational. And it’s time we start treating them that way—compensating them, amplifying them, and making space for them in every corner of healthcare.

If you’re a patient, caregiver, or advocate, this is your moment. Let’s take this step together, creating ripples that will one day become waves, changing the landscape of healthcare for good.

Because at the end of the day, when patients are truly seen, heard, and valued, everyone wins. BMJ