The reality of the lack of implant regulation in Europe is finally starting to bite. A leaked internal FDA report “Unsafe and ineffective devices approved in the EU that were not approved in the US,” has lambasted the European system and highlighted failures in the processes. According to the Star Tribune, the report says that […]
Karim Khan: Why a BMJ Olympics portal?
Love them or hate them, you can’t escape them. Almost as big as the Royal Jubilee, the Olympic Games have already taken a grip on London and Londoners. And other parts of the country too by all reports. Various colleagues are going to the Olympics specifically because it is in London. So let’s not be […]
Rebecca Coombes: Soaring rents but Ghana gets it right on vaccinations
It’s boom time in Ghana right now. The country’s economy soared by 14% in 2011 thanks to new oil receipts—earning it a listing as the world’s fastest growing economy. This prosperity is a mixed blessing say the locals. Rents in the capital city Accra are approaching London levels—$2000 a month for an apartment in a […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Ernest Hart leaps out of the Raidió
Tootling along in the car on holiday. Brain idling, half listening to the radio when, out of the middle of an Irish language programme, jumped Ernest Hart. A former editor of the BMJ in whose eponymously named room we often have editorial meetings. But, on Raidió na Gaeltachta? A historian recalled the spinning and weaving […]
Edzard Ernst: Pascal’s Wager and alternative medicine
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) argued that, because it is impossible to either prove or disprove the existence of God, it would be best to wager in favour of his existence. In case one got it wrong, little would be lost; in case one was correct, everything was gained. The same logic seems to be employed by […]
Estrella Lasry: Responding to malaria: a view from the ground
Yesterday was World Malaria Day, a day that for me is filled with contradictions. There are many reasons to feel encouraged. Globally the number of malaria deaths is dropping, thanks to progress on several fronts over the past decade: better prevention strategies, including widespread distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets; rapid, easy-to-use diagnostics; and more effective […]
Gabriel Scally: The flying doctors service of East Africa and Sylvia Pankhurst
The Flying Doctors Service of East Africa sounds like an echo from a romantic, and bygone age. But its formation in 1957 was the first step in the creation of a major African health development organisation that has been given the World Federation of Public Health Associations’ Institutional Award at the 13th World Congress of […]
John Clark on engaging leadership: hope for the future lies with a new breed of doctors
With a few exceptions, medical students have little, if any, training in management, leadership, and service improvement. Yet from the moment they graduate, doctors require a range of such competencies, which become more important as they progress to become consultants and general practitioners. Early exposure to management and leadership should provide the foundation for an […]
Mary Madden: Are medical conferences useful?
In his recent Viewpoint piece [1], John Ioannidis asks whether medical conferences serve any useful purpose other than as carbon-guzzling showcases for opinion leaders and pharma-funded research. He also proposes that nobody with ties to industry over the last 3 years be allowed to organise a conference. Ioannidis’ concerns resonate loudly following my participant observation […]
Andrew Moscrop: Neonatal intensive care, Pakistan
There are five sick babies and only four incubators in the neonatal intensive care unit. What do I do? The infants who get the incubators and the ventilation equipment may survive because of it; the child who does not will probably die because of the omission. What would you do? Five tiny hearts flutter desperately […]