Opening Opportunities With Open Data | JACC: Heart Failure

"Researchers in many fields have begun to share data. Increasingly, researchers are sharing data without judging data requests as a gatekeeper or requiring authorship. Despite over a decade of calls for data sharing, the culture of medicine changes slowly, and reluctance predominates over willingness to share. A group of cardiovascular clinical trialists recently advocated for 2 years of exclusive access to data generated by their teams, with the principal investigator involved in subsequent vetting of requests. The proposal suggests trepidation about the impact of data sharing on clinical trialists’ endeavors. Little if anything has been said about the potential for cardiovascular clinical trialists to benefit from an environment in which sharing data is routine. Yet, evidence is building to suggest that when data sharing begins in earnest, it will be a boon to early career and senior clinical trialists, as well as to the patients who inspire us to study the unknown. Access to others’ datasets can help early career clinical trialists establish their reputation before they are entrusted with the resources to lead a large-scale trial...."