NEJM 5 Mar 2015 Vol 372 893 “A Precious Jewel—The Role of General Practice in the English NHS” is an essay by Martin Marshall from University College, London. It is open access, and the best summary I have read of the plight of general practice after the maulings of the last few years. Without being […]
As a former medical intern, I witnessed the devastating impact that lack of access to modern family planning had on the lives of women and young girls. I recall admitting a teenager who had an unsafe abortion that was done in secret. Her own mother was what we call an “avorteuse”—a traditional, unqualified practitioner who performs […]
Emily Colas’s Just Checking is a riveting, often unsettling, account of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Reading it got my stream of consciousness ruminating about the link between disgust and stereotypy. Neasden is a byword for ordinariness; Wigan for northernness; and East Cheam, at least since Tony Hancock, for supposed rundown provinciality. […]
The sudden surge in prosecutions of doctors in the criminal courts when patients die is alarming. There is a growing body of opinion that the charge of gross negligence manslaughter is being used inappropriately to prosecute doctors who, in their daily lives, work in an inherently high risk environment. It is generally accepted that deaths […]
The number of people with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in India is increasing with each passing year. The World Health Organization estimates that NCDs could account for nearly 60% of total deaths in India. Yet, despite an increased allocation of spending on healthcare by the government in the past few years, out of pocket expenditure by […]
Here’s your Friday roundup: Cold homes and winter deaths • GPs should identify people living in cold homes and visit them once a year to assess their heating needs, says the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The guidance recommends that anyone whose health and wellbeing are at risk because of a cold home […]
In the medical community, there are certain conditions that fall under the fuzzy category of medically unexplained syndromes (MUS). These syndromes, like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and somatoform disorder, present with odd constellations of symptoms that neither physical examination nor diagnostic tests can explain. [1] To some members of the medical community, these are not diseases in their own […]
Rest easy in your beds overworked doctors and ailing patients, for tomorrow, all will be well. Big data will revolutionise healthcare. Processes in creaky health systems will be streamlined, patients empowered, and outcomes improved. Upbeat messages permeated the air at the UK e-health meeting at Olympia in London this week (ukehealthweek.com). E-health is more a […]
A great deal of attention is being paid to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as an emerging source of illness, death, and healthcare costs—recognising that low and middle income countries (LMICs) in particular are faced with a growing threat. The NCDs movement tends to coalesce around four priority conditions—heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, and common cancers—and has […]
Editorial: High potency cannabis In this editorial, Wayne Hall and Louise Degenhardt’s editorial discuss the recent research article published in Lancet Psychiatry that found daily use of “skunk” (a highly potent form of cannabis) is a contributory cause of schizophrenia. After exploring the key limitations of the research, they conclude that “the remarkable consistency of […]