Rosanna O’ Keeffe on Direct Provision: Is this really the best we can do for those seeking asylum?

In 2000 the Direct Provision scheme was officially introduced by the Irish government. The scheme requires asylum seekers to live in designated accommodation centres while they await decisions on their application for refugee or humanitarian leave to remain in Ireland. Initially, it was expected that the maximum time spent in Direct Provision would be six […]

Read More…

Jason Cone: There is no such a thing as “free” vaccines: Why MSF rejected Pfizer’s donation offer of pneumonia vaccines

I recently had the difficult task of telling Ian Read, Pfizer’s CEO, that Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is rejecting the company’s offer to donate a significant number of pneumonia vaccine (PCV) doses for the children we serve. This is not a decision that we took lightly, since our medical teams working in the field witness […]

Read More…

Chris van Stolk and Joanna Hofman: Helping people with mental health problems to stay in work

            Reducing mental ill health in the UK remains a significant policy challenge for government. Just over 6 million working age people have mental health problems, with 39 per cent of those seeking help and 24 per cent receiving treatment. However, a recent report from the National Audit Office (NAO) […]

Read More…

Tim Lobstein: Can wearable technology help patients tackle obesity?

Technology offers solutions to many health problems, but can the new generation of wearable sensors help patients manage their weight? Experience from an EU funded project suggests that there are challenges and opportunities. One in eight British adults is now using wearable technology to support and change their health behaviour. Many products are aimed at […]

Read More…

Iain Chalmers: Should the Cochrane logo be accompanied by a health warning?

The birth of the Cochrane logo Twenty four summers ago I asked David Mostyn to design a logo to illustrate the objectives of the soon-to-be-opened Cochrane Centre. He did a good job: the circle reflects global objectives and international collaboration; the mirror image “Cs” stood for the Cochrane Centre (and, a year later, the Cochrane […]

Read More…

Richard Smith: Can the NHS ever manage to analyse data to improve patient care?

In order to improve patient outcomes the NHS badly needs to collect data on all that is happening, analyse it intelligently, and present the information to clinicians and managers in an understandable and actionable form. That was the central message from Keith McNeil, who recently became chief clinical information officer health and social care for […]

Read More…

Richard Lehman’s journal review—17 October 2016

NEJM  13 Oct 2016  Vol 375 Outcomes and choices This week’s print NEJM contains mostly papers I’ve already commented on—notably, Gilbert Welch’s important study of mammography and breast cancer outcomes and the landmark British trial comparing surgery, radiotherapy, and watchful waiting for PSA detected prostate cancer (ProtecT). However, I hadn’t commented on the patient reported […]

Read More…