Clinical trials are the cornerstone of medical research. Multiple publications of the results of a specific trial as well as non-publication of unfavorable results are among the problems facing the medical literature. To avoid such problems, the idea of trial registries has been proposed, and nowadays authors cannot publish the results of trials in most […]
Category: Guest writers
Tony Waterston: Making the connection between education and practice … and a pipe band in Bethlehem
Attending the graduation ceremony for the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Child Health Diploma programme in Ramallah I fantasised over the effect of the course on children’s health. We want to see the following: thriving, well nourished infants, lively and independent minded children, healthy teenagers with high self esteem, disabled youngsters who are […]
Parijaat Vaidya reviews When a mother’s love is not enough
As the mother of a severely disabled child and a psychiatrist working with learning disabled children, I was particularly interested in this BBC documentary which highlights the enormous challenges families face in bringing up a child with disabilities. […]
Bev Collin on priorities for tackling malnutrition
With the World Food Summit happening this week in Rome, and thinking about my experience of working in the field of malnutrition, two very strong images came to mind. […]
Andrew Rouse and Tom Marshall: Informed consent, the doctor and H1N1 immunisation
How does a doctor obtain informed consent for H1N1 immunisation consistent with General Medical Council guidance? The Department of Health’s guidance does not provide sufficient information for this. This is our attempt to rectify this omission, providing information required for informed consent consistent with good professional practice. We outline the main principles of General Medical […]
Mary E Black on flu suits and holy water dispensers
Plagues create business opportunities and the worried well in any era present a commercial opportunity. In the Middle Ages, the Black Death and the Great Plague saw brisk sales in fumigators, herbal remedies, and the plague suit – predecessor of the DuPont TK555T HazMat suit, and equally unsettling for nervous patients. Quacks (from the old […]
Ohad Oren: Routine operation, impeccable performance
“Bring sac close to peritoneum, drain its purulent liquid content, and have the shrunken pouch squeezed through this tiny hole.” Such was the senior surgeon’s instruction at the conclusion of a gallbladder removal operation. […]
Peter Lapsley: Please tick the box!
Some things never seem to change. I spent much of the ten years during which I ran the Skin Care Campaign (SCC) explaining patiently to the government and to pharmacists that, where topical treatments for skin diseases are concerned, generic substitution can present serious problems. That was not only the view of the 35 patient […]
Richard Smith on assessing health technology assessment
The budget of Britain’s Health Technology Assessment programme has grown from £13m in 2006 to £88m in 2010, and it has conducted a swathe of trials on new technologies, published dozens of papers, and supported a study that won the BMJ paper of the year. But could it do even better? This was the question addressed […]
Carmi Z Margolis on global health education
When he first entered the spacious great room, a colleague exclaimed: “What an amazing place! I’ve always wanted to come to Bellagio! How did you do it?” I imagine most of our conference participants had similar thoughts. The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Conference Centre, situated on the grounds of an ancient villa that belonged to the […]