• The UK is still officially the best place in the world to die, having once again topped the rankings in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Quality of Death Index. In an editorial, John Hughes, director of the UK charity Sue Ryder, discusses how the UK got to the top in palliative care, and what needs […]
Category: The BMJ today
The BMJ Today: China, philanthropy, statistics, Minerva, and what your patient is thinking
• In his acclaimed weekly blog, Richard Lehman highlights a cluster of articles on healthcare in China. Acute kidney injury seems to be an emerging problem in China as many traditional herbal products may contain nephrotoxic plant substances, with more than 70% of patients giving a history of possible toxic drug ingestion. • Peter Sandercock, featured in the […]
The BMJ Today: Global health, socioeconomic differences, and other matters
• To achieve universal health coverage by 2030, as required by UN Sustainable Development Goals, primary care must be strengthened in middle and low income countries. Educational resources and decision support tools for primary care workers in these settings are critically needed. In an editorial, Fairall and Walsh argue that educational materials must be developed in […]
The BMJ Today: The diesel scandal and breast cancer
• Paul Wilkinson and Andy Haines call for consequences to the Volkswagen diesel scandal in an editorial. Perhaps the lesson from the Volkswagen episode is not just whether manufacturers will comply with the legislation aimed at cleaning an inherently polluting fuel source. It may be time for society to commit to a decisive break with fossil fuel […]
The BMJ Today: The NHS, dietary guidelines, and diabetes drugs
• The NHS keeps dominating headlines, with bad news and some good news. The bad news is the deficit of almost a billion pounds, which NHS hospital trusts in England have run up in the first three months of this year. This is already higher than the deficit for the whole of the previous financial year. Gareth […]
The BMJ Today: Hunt says BMA is being “irresponsible”
• Yes, you read that headline correctly—Jeremy Hunt is accusing doctors of being irresponsible over their handling of the new contract for junior doctors. As Gareth Iacobucci reports, the health secretary told the Conservative Party conference that the BMA was being “utterly irresponsible” in the way it has handled changes to junior doctors’ contracts. He said […]
The BMJ Today: Don’t call me Citler
• Advice on alcohol for pregnant women is the topic of this latest head to head debate. Mary Mather and Kate Wiles argue that current advice to pregnant women is contradictory and confusing, and they should know that “there is no threshold of alcohol consumption that is certain to be safe.” On the opposing side, Patrick O’Brien […]
BMJ Today: Warriors and worriers
Nobel warriors: The story behind this year’s Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine is one of meticulous and methodical laboratory toil that led to the discovery of two important drug treatments for many millions of people in the developing world affected by roundworm parasites and malaria. Avermectin (later ivermectin) has led to the near edradication […]
The BMJ Today: When is humane discretion in the NHS an offence?
• While Jeremy Hunt prepares to tell the Tory party conference about his plans for a seven day NHS, one doctor suggests there are more immediate problems that he should address, namely overcrowding in today’s hospitals. David Oliver, consultant in geriatrics and acute general medicine, Berkshire, says: “I have a confession: I sometimes allow patients […]
The BMJ Today: The active role clinicians can play in tackling society’s inequalities
Major update to HIV treatment guidance The World Health Organisation has released guidance which would dramatically affect the threshold at which patients with HIV are offered antiretroviral medication. At present, highly effective medications are routinely offered when the immune system shows signs of decline. The new guidance suggests that these medications should be offered from […]