Recently, I’ve written blogs about overuse and underuse in the NHS—the problems of doing too much of the wrong things and not enough of the right ones. The final chapter in this story is misuse: when health services are poorly delivered, resulting in preventable harm to patients. In reality, the distinctions between these three concepts […]
“e-Patient Dave” deBronkart: “My Health: Upgraded” is a clear vision from a young futurist
In my work to understand how medicine saved me from Stage IV renal cell carcinoma in 2007, yet so often falls catastrophically short, I’ve looked for causes of both success and shortfall. More than anything, I’ve seen that “the progress of progress” depends on whether we correctly see, or fail to see, the latest and […]
The BMJ Today: GSK’s Study 329, BMJ Confidential, and facial nerve palsy
• A feature discusses GlaxoSmithKline’s Study 329. Under the restoring invisible and abandoned trials (RIAT) initiative, The BMJ has published a major reanalysis which found paroxetine to be neither safe nor effective in treating adolescents with depression. The story has been widely picked up in the international press, including including New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters, the […]
The BMJ Today: The benefits of antibacterial soap, a trans fats ban, and e-cigs
• The latest news article by Gareth Iacobucci reports that an additional £1bn in emergency deficit funds is now urgently needed by the NHS this year. In a recent review by the King’s Fund, it was found that the £8bn by 2020 pledged by the government would cover an “absolute minimum” of care and would not […]
Katherine Sleeman: After Neuberger and NICE, what next?
Last month, NICE published new draft guidance on the care of dying adults. The extensive media coverage that followed reflects the context in which it was developed: the guidance serves partly to fill the gap left by the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Care of the Dying (LCP), which was phased out in a storm […]
Alison Criado-Perez: From an insecure and dangerous present to an unknown future
It’s 10.30pm on board the Phoenix, the search and rescue vessel in the Mediterranean run jointly by @MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) and @MSF. I joined a few days ago, in a mid-sea midnight transfer. Before I go to bed, I go up on the darkened foredeck and remember how it looked yesterday, packed with […]
The release of regulatory documents under EMA policy 0070: Now you see them, now you don’t
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has issued its long anticipated new policy (policy 0070) on prospective access to clinical trial data, and is now in consultations to figure out the details of its implementation. We were invited to join these ongoing consultations, and have previously reported on the debate here and here. We have been […]
The BMJ Today: Women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health
Global health experts warn that societies are failing women, children, and adolescents, particularly in the poorest communities around the world, and urgent action is needed to save lives and improve health. Our special cluster of 16 articles looks at the success or otherwise of millennium development goals 4 and 5 and finds vast inequalities between and within […]
Desmond O’Neill: 45 years of solitude
One of the rare pleasures of life is to encounter a movie without the encrustation of prior critical approval, hype, or derision. One of my stand-out cinematic experiences occurred at a very busy stage of my life when I was brought to The Matrix without any prior awareness of plot or critical reception. The sheer […]
Kamal R Mahtani: General practice clinical pharmacists: an opportunity to be innovative or cynical?
Declining resources, an ageing population, multi-morbidity and rising demands are just some of the reasons adding to an unsustainable workload in general practice. As the RCGP point out in their discussion paper, there is an urgent need to develop strategies that can successfully reduce the workload on general practice while minimising the risk to patients. […]