Attracting, distributing, and retaining health workers remain a challenge in Nepal. In 2011, Nepal had 0.04 doctors and 0.23 nurses per 1000 people, against a World Health Organization benchmark of 2.3 health workers per 1000 people. A survey conducted in 2013 revealed that only about 50% of sanctioned posts for doctors and nurses were filled in […]
James Raftery: Ever higher cancer drug prices—driven by US policies and genetic sequencing
The high prices charged by companies for cancer drugs has led to lots of speculation, but very little explanation. The most interesting attempt to explain these high prices has been made by a US oncologist Scott Ramsey. As the article is paywalled, I summarise it below (with thanks to the author for a copy). His […]
Michael Wilks: Climate change—action at a national and global level is essential
The 2015 Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change was published on 23 June. A previous commission, established jointly by The Lancet and University College London, described climate change as “the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.” While the 2015 report recommends practical steps to be taken by national and international administrations, it […]
The BMJ Today: Healthcare in war
• Who is taking care of civilians and fighters’ medical needs in parts of Iraq and Syria taken over by the Islamic state? Duncan Gardham reports that doctors have been forced to pledge allegiance or flee, aid workers have retreated, and the Islamic state is organising a workforce of medical jihadists from around the world. […]
Julian Sheather: Forty years of the Declaration of Tokyo
Medical involvement in torture looks like a category error. Medicine has to do with the healing of bodies and minds; torture with their destruction. It is now forty years since the World Medical Association (WMA) adopted the Declaration of Tokyo on Guidelines for Physicians Concerning Torture. It was necessary then. The tragedy is how necessary […]
David Payne: Remembering 7/7 ten years on
Outside BMA House a solitary bunch of purple stocks hangs from the railings, alongside the memorial plaque to victims of the Tavistock Square suicide bomb attack on a London bus 10 years ago. As passers-by stop to read the names of the dead, inside the building survivors of the blast, along with bereaved friends and […]
Juliet Dobson: Cutting support services for new mothers is a false economy
I was sad to hear that support services for new mothers are going to be cut across England. The Guardian reports that breastfeeding classes, home visits from midwives, and “babyfeeding cafes”—where mothers can drop in and talk to feeding advisers as well as other parents—are increasingly being scaled back or cut owing to pressures on […]
Tom Jefferson: Are we ready for the EMA revolution?
After attending a webinar on the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) new 0070 policy, which formalises the release of regulatory data held by the EMA, some of my earlier doubts have been addressed by what seems to be a general EMA commitment to openness (see my first blog on this webinar). For example, following a remark […]
Tom Jefferson: The EMA revolution gathers pace
In October 2014, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) promulgated its policy 0070 on the release of regulatory data acquired and held in the course of its regulatory function. At the time, some of us advised caution in accepting the policy at face value, although we recognised the great contribution that the policy and the EMA’s attitude […]
Doctors’ Day in India: Time for critical reflection for the medical profession
India celebrates Doctors’ Day every year on 1 July, in memory of Bidhan Chandra Roy (1 July 1882-1 July 1962), a well respected physician who was also the second chief minister of the state of West Bengal. The day sees a fair bit of fanfare, with events held across the country, especially by bodies such […]