Here’s what is new on thebmj.com today. • Selective reporting in trials of high risk cardiovascular devices Do regulators trust the medical literature as a source of unbiased knowledge? I would be surprised if they do after reading a research paper by Lee Chang and colleagues. This team of academics searched the US Food and Drug […]
Category: The BMJ today
The BMJ Today: How many patients is the private sector treating for the NHS?
• Paid for by the NHS, treated privately In one of his regular data briefings, John Appleby, chief economist at the King’s Fund, looks at how much non-NHS providers contribute to NHS care. Decent data on this area is a relatively new phenomenon, he writes, but over the seven years since 2006-7 the proportion of NHS […]
The BMJ Today: Risks of caesarean delivery, medical abortions, and sepsis in children
• Time to consider the risks of caesarean delivery for long term child health In an analysis article, Jan Blustein and Jianmeng Liu examine the evidence linking caesarean delivery with childhood chronic disease and say that guidelines on delivery should be reviewed with these risks in mind. For example, according to recent research, children delivered […]
The BMJ Today: Waterpipe smoking and Pfizer launches fightback
• Pfizer steps up battle to defend control of Lyrica—Andrew Jack reports on how Pfizer has launched a charm offensive on UK doctors after a barrage of criticism over action to maintain exclusive control of the main use of its valuable pain drug pregabalin (Lyrica). Despite the expiry of the drug’s original patent, Pfizer holds […]
The BMJ Today: Transgender care, stroke care, alcohol industry lobbying, and who was the best health secretary?
• The rise of transgender care In February 2013 Kaiser Permanente was the first mainstream US healthcare provider to open a transgender health clinic, in Oakland, California, Bob Roehr reports. Kaiser had anticipated about four surgical patients a month. But a few weeks later state regulators said that managed care organisations could no longer exclude […]
The BMJ Today: Systems need to change to overcome healthcare problems
• Elder abuse, say Yuliya Mysyuk and colleagues, is a “far reaching public health problem that affects the quality of life of people worldwide,” and point to failures in health systems, rather than to individuals, as the reason for its prevalence. Healthcare professionals, they say, are one of the most important groups to identify abuse. […]
The BMJ Today: The earlier the better for mental health
The BMJ has this week published not one but two summaries of new NICE guidance: • The first is on bronchiolitis in children. Our summary will take you through diagnosis, referral, admission and management of the condition. • The second summary of NICE guidance deals with challenging behaviour and learning disabilities. Again, this will take […]
The BMJ Today: Are conflicts of interest in medicine so bad?
• The NEJM has been wondering if conflicts of interest in medicine are really so bad? In a blistering essay, Robert Steinbrook, Jerome Kassirer, and Marcia Angell, former senior editors for the NEJM call the series of articles “A seriously flawed and inflammatory attack.” • The BMJ has a blanket moratorium on conflicts of interest […]
The BMJ Today: Stand up to keep fit
• According a news story, standing and light activity for two hours per day during work hours is recommended for those in roles which are for the most part sedentary. The advice comes from a guide published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. […]
The BMJ Today: “Rapid responses are wonderful”
Michael Stone praises The BMJ’s article based post publication peer review in a weekend rapid response to my feature marking the 20th anniversary of the journal’s website last week. They “allow for an almost immediate analysis of “intricate and technical issues” which arise from the original paper,” he writes, adding: “It is possible to effectively “debate a point […]