Over the past few weeks we have seen a lot of media interest around NHS England’s plan to bring health information together under the banner of care.data, which will allow the linkage of de-identified patient data from different care settings in a secure environment. Care.data will have various uses which include measuring and improving the […]
The BMJ Today: One portion of broccoli and hummous to go
Do you ever stop off for a burger or a slice of pizza on your way home from work? And if the takeaway had organic broccoli spears and a hummous dip on the menu, would you go for the healthier option instead? […]
Krishnan Ganapathy: Is a virtual rural healthcare service the answer for India?
Young doctors all over India breathed a sigh of relief when the Union Health Minister announced that the proposed year of rural service as a pre requisite for post graduate medical education would not be put into action. Although it cannot be denied that there is an acute shortage of healthcare providers in rural India, […]
Kiran Varadharajan: A junior surgical trainee’s perspective on surgical simulation
The European Working Time Directive (EWTD) has reduced the number of hours that trainee doctors have to hone their skills. As a junior surgical trainee, I find that time in theatre is of the essence when it comes to improving my operative skills. “The Time for Training Report” highlighted these challenges with suggestions on how […]
The BMJ Today: Surgery in a war zone
“Nothing else comes close to the enjoyment of being able to help people in a war zone,” says London based vascular surgeon David Nott in BMJ Confidential. For two decades he has taken around six weeks, unpaid leave almost every year to provide help and to train doctors in war zones, starting in Sarajevo in […]
Robin E Moulder: The role of patient engagement in error prevention
Imagine being told you have a devastating illness, only to find out months later it was a mistake? Medical diagnostic errors are profoundly damaging to the patient, the clinician, and the healthcare system. Yet, as we know, human error is a reality in our clinical practice. My grandfather had a saying when it came to […]
Richard Vize: Labour’s recommendations on integrated care and social reform
Labour’s independent commission on health policy has made some welcome recommendations on integrated care and system reform, but could create conflict between the NHS and local government. The commission, led by respected GP Sir John Oldham, develops the idea of “whole person care” championed by shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, intended to bring together physical […]
The BMJ Today: Patient recordings, gestational diabetes, and smoking cessation in pregnancy
We’ve grown so used to the words, “your call may be monitored or recorded,” when dealing with our bank, phone company, or even dentist over the phone that it no longer even registers. But did you know that patients have the right to record medical consultations, even covertly, as it is regarded as a legal […]
Billy Boland: The importance of challenging the status quo
I had 10 minutes to steel myself as I marched down the Embankment in Leeds for the second residential of the Bevan Programme at the NHS Leadership Academy. Preparing to be the odd man out, I was going to gate crash a different cohort for this next three day stretch. I’d missed out on my […]
Readers’ editor: Clichéd series titles, and “Save our Des”
Last month the journal launched the first in a series of in-depth reviews written by international experts—State of the Art—to highlight important areas of clinical medicine and academic inquiry. So far we have published two. The first article examined the mechanisms and clinical implications of neuropathic pain and, according to Google Analytics, has been viewed […]