“If you build it, they will come!” So went the catchphrase of Field of Dreams, in which an Iowa farmer is inspired by voices to build a baseball diamond in his cornfield. And, indeed, “they” do come—the movie ends with an endless line of people in cars coming to see a ball game in his […]
Category: Columnists
Richard Smith: Talking eugenics in Germany
The other day I heard a wildly optimistic account of how our understanding of genetics would allow us to eradicate many diseases, potentially create better people, and reduce health costs. I’m sceptical about all of these claims, but I was taken back to a strange meeting I attended in Germany perhaps 20 years ago. David […]
David Oliver: Older people in nursing homes—from “hard hitting exposés” to constructive solutions
Last night BBC One’s Panorama: Behind Closed Doors was the latest in its series of programmes on appalling care for frail older people. For someone like me, who works day in day out in frontline services, it was disturbing viewing and a hard watch. The producers picked three care homes identified as problematic by whistleblowers, residents’ […]
Neal Maskrey: Learning the patterns to unlock decision making
The hardest of hearts must have been softened by the improvement in Anglo-Irish relations in recent years. The Queen’s speech in 2011 at the state dinner in Dublin Castle, with its apology for “things we wish had been done differently or not at all,” was a remarkable occasion. Think about an Irish television audience of […]
Richard Smith: Why doesn’t the obvious happen?
It’s obvious to me that all scientific research should be available free to everybody everywhere, the polypill to prevent heart attacks and strokes should be offered to all those over 55, and patients not health institutions should control their records. Why don’t these obvious things happen? The core arguments for making all research free are […]
Richard Smith: Do sexual abuse of children and research misconduct have something in common?
Every so often I hear stories of people prominent in medical research who are suspected of research misconduct—or research fraud, as it was once more bluntly called. Could the stories possibly be true? Some prominent people have been found guilty of misconduct, and we know that research misconduct is not rare. A systematic review found […]
Desmond O’Neill: Expanding the imaginarium of ageing
My most formative experience in gerontology was a student gap year in Marseille. A volunteer with Les Petits Frères des Pauvres, a charmingly radical organisation dedicated to improving life for older people, I was fascinated by their motto—les fleurs avant le pain. At first sight, the focus on flowers ahead of bread seemed twee. […]
William Cayley: Is primary care in the US really the future?
Is primary care really the future? I’d like to say “Yes,” but I’m not so sure… (at least in the USA). There has been much talk and writing about the growing need for primary care physicians to serve our population, and one “promise” of the Affordable Care Act is “its potential to make primary care […]
Julian Sheather: Time to debate the ethics of robot care?
We take it for granted that compassion is at the heart of good care. But what if the hand that reaches out to yours is a robot’s? What if the last face you see on earth is a facsimile? The use of robotics is well established in parts of medicine. Surgery involving remote manipulation of […]
Jim Murray: Abbvie withdraw case against European Medicines Agency
AbbVie have withdrawn their legal challenge against the release of certain company documents on Humira (adalimunab) by the EMA. This followed an offer by the agency to redact parts of the document originally intended for release. Is this good news? There are those who think it is, but we cannot be entirely sure at this […]