To achieve Prescrire's aim of promoting high-quality health care, the resources we produce must be reliable, which takes hard work and attention to detail. How do we do this? By rolling up our sleeves and working as a team: a united, open-minded team, armed with expertise in critical appraisal and a methodical approach.

And how is Prescrire funded so as to ensure its continued independence, given that we have no shortage of energy and conviction, but lack any fortune, inherited wealth or capital? By consciously opting for a self-financing model, based on subscriptions that are freely taken out and renewed by health professionals who understand the importance of investing in the tools they need to serve patients. And who know that having all the services provided by Prescrire at their fingertips will help them do just that to the best of their ability.

This financing model ensures that Prescrire remains free from dependence on: politicians, who may lack integrity or be subject to influence; insurers, who may be hamstrung or overwhelmed by their need to balance budgets; pharmaceutical companies, who are led by the desire to make a profit and the need to keep their shareholders happy; "big" clients, whose continued financial support is determined by a handful of administrators; and wealthy philanthropists, who make entirely subjective decisions about the causes they choose to support.

Prescrire thrives on its ongoing relationship with health professionals. It's a relationship built not only on subscriptions, but also on time, attention, feedback and support. It deepens when health professionals use Prescrire's resources in their offices, health centres, pharmacies or hospitals. When they draw on Prescrire in their clinical practice, or while teaching or conducting research. When they turn to Prescrire to help them reflect, decide and take action, both individually and collectively. For all of this is exactly what Prescrire is for.

And that's what makes this such a rich exchange.

 ©Prescrire 1 May 2026

Source: "A rich exchange" Prescrire Int 2026; 35 (281): 115. FREE.