During the years I have been talking to doctors about medical ethics, I have often heard it said that when push comes to shove, the rights dice are loaded in favour of patients. All this talk of patient autonomy is all very well but what about the autonomy of doctors? What about our rights? With […]
Most science—and I am going to include medicine here—is based on the idea that you build on the work of others. To do this meaningfully requires that you can challenge what has gone before you. All claims must be subject to scrutiny, and openness about the factual basis for any such claims facilitates this process. […]
In 2006, Sir Iain Chalmers, one of the founders of the Cochrane Collaboration, accused Asim Kurjak, a former professor at the Zagreb School of Medicine, of repeated plagiarism and criticised the University of Zagreb for its lack of action in dealing with these cases. In his article “Role of systematic reviews in detecting plagiarism: case […]
In January when I wrote a BMJ feature titled ” Snakebite: a forgotten problem,” little did I know that just two months down the line I would be part of something that will help change the lives of millions of marginalised people who are affected by a problem that is still neglected by policy makers, […]
Very few scientists become politicians, and this is hardly surprising. A scientist will usually only present a new finding once it has been carefully researched, tested, and peer reviewed, whereas politicians can happily advocate any crackpot theory based on little more than anecdotal experience, personal prejudice, and questionable media reports. A scientist’s professional reputation can […]
JAMA 13 Mar 2013 Vol 309 997 Obstructive sleep apnoea is very, very common. In the preamble to this Australian study, a third of the adult population is accused of having symptoms that might be OSA. Previous studies have shown that polysomnography has no significant advantages over a home video, reporting by sleeping partners, or […]
Who should resign this week? The blame game continues with more Mid Staffs finger pointing. As newspapers identify further unpleasant aspects of the wider tragedy, there is a risk that we stop reading about it and just move on to the next news story. Sad, isn’t it, that the main messages from one of the […]
Last week India’s Union budget was passed by the Union finance minister P. Chidambaram. It was met with mixed reactions by markets and pundits. As a healthcare professional interested in the general health of India, I found myself getting straight to the section on health in the finance minister’s speech. The minister started off by […]
Sugar is the new tobacco. It is dangerous, addictive, and toxic, and it cannot be controlled by education or legislation alone. This is a war, between public health and private industry, and one that is best waged through the courts. These were some of the more dramatic pronouncements heard at what was ostensibly an academic […]
We’ve been having this conversation since at least 1945, said a member of the audience at this week’s Cambridge Health Network meeting on partnerships between the NHS and the private sector. The dominant rhetoric now is that partnership between the NHS and the private sector will be essential for improving health and generating wealth for […]