Last week I discussed how drugs get their International Nonproprietary Names (INNs). The World Health Organization’s expert panel that assigns INNs has nine principles to guide its decisions, two primary and seven secondary. Here they are in abbreviated form: 1. The names should be distinctive in sound and spelling. They should not be inconveniently long […]
Arthy Santhakumar: Taking stock—Exposing the multi-billion pound medical gloves industry
Tops, frocks, bananas, and coffee—these are likely to be your top answers when asked to think of “fair trade.” Historically, the fashion industry and agriculture sector have claimed the top spots for industries most likely to violate workers’ rights. But is it time we applied the same scrutiny to the healthcare industry and promoted the […]
Jon Brassey: The rise of rapid reviews
This blog is part of a series of blogs linked with BMJ Clinical Evidence, a database of systematic overviews of the best available evidence on the effectiveness of commonly used interventions. Rapid reviews are increasingly commissioned, used, and written about. But why is there this—relatively sudden—interest? Putting it bluntly, it’s because the cornerstone of evidence […]
Jay Achar: Drug resistant tuberculosis—not just a precursor to the post-antibiotic apocalypse
In 2015 the world woke up to the idea that the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will ultimately lead to a post-antibiotic era in which even simple medical treatments will cease to be possible. Over the past decade the infectious disease medical community has looked on in horror as NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1—an enzyme rendering […]
Mohammad Razai: What have we learnt from our work in Botswana?
Three years ago I travelled to Gaborone, Botswana for my medical elective. I was there to learn about glaucoma—the complex eye disease and so called “silent thief of sight.” After the initial excitement of arriving in a country known for its dazzling birds, savannahs, and pristine natural beauty, came the challenge. Glaucoma is the second […]
Jeanne Lenzer: The Backstory—The New York Doctors’ Riot
Harriet Washington, a medical ethicist and author, opened a recent talk saying, “Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, heroes of the newly minted American Republic, did not spend 15 April 1788, penning the Federalist papers, nor were they holding forth on the virtues of a free press while bedecked in morning coats and powdered wigs. Instead […]
James Raftery on a short history of NICE
A terrible beauty: A short history of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence by Nicholas Timmins, Michael Rawlins and John Appleby. Free download. This story of NICE is a great read. The main author Nick Timmins, a former journalist for the Financial Times, now with the Kings Fund, tells a thriller like story […]
Richard Smith: Turning round failing hospitals
The Care Quality Commission has placed 27 health institutions, most of them hospitals, into “special measures,” and so far 11 have emerged. Few jobs can be tougher or lonelier than taking over the leadership of a failing hospital. Regulators may put you under tremendous pressure for quick results, while staff may hope to “see you […]
Suzanne Gordon on the difficult patient
Today it’s hard to find a healthcare professional who doesn’t want to “put the patient first,” practise “patient centered care,” or make the patient “part” or even “the centre” of the healthcare team. When you discuss any potential or actual bureaucratic, governmental, insurance company, or even internet interference in clinical practice, clinicians complain that non-healthcare professionals […]
Alice Gerth: Junior doctors find their voice
As the strikes continue and the BMA votes to escalate action I have been searching for some of the more positive aspects of the present situation. Over the past few months a whole generation of doctors has engaged with politics and leadership. We have woken up to the fact that we have a powerful voice […]