It is all over now. The Health and Social Care Bill has been passed. The politicians have moved on, content to leave professionals and managers to pick up the pieces. Whichever side of this exhausting, divisive, and passionate argument you favoured, we are in a different place now. It is no longer a question of […]
Edward Davies: BMJ research, Welsh rugby, and a papal death
The life of a researcher seems to me to be a thankless task. Most research concludes that more research is needed on pretty much any given subject in pretty much the whole world. I have long looked forward to the BMJ paper that concludes: “We can close the book on this. It is now a […]
Richard Smith: What is sustainable intelligence?
At a recent party to honour David Pencheon, head of the NHS Sustainability Unit, we were all invited to have a go at defining sustainable intelligence. When I was a boy there was only one kind of intelligence. It was tested for in Intelligence Quotient tests, and important decisions were made about us based on […]
Deborah Cohen: Despite recent scandals, implantable devices will not have to undergo clinical studies, leaked European draft legislation reveals
Metal on metal hips; breast implants; cardiac devices—the list of European device regulatory failures goes on. And it may be set to continue, if current EU proposals to “reform” device regulation go ahead. To try to alleviate consumer concerns two years ago, the European Commission—responsible for developing the legislation about how medical devices are regulated—decided […]
Jeremy Sare on the French drugs model
The prime minister told Parliament last week he was determined to “stamp out” legal highs and new club drugs. There is no hope, however, of halting the inexorable rise in prevalence of these drugs so long as the Home Office holds responsibility for drug policy and so long as the primary response is about enforcement […]
Catherine Foot: Will the Information Strategy start an information revolution?
The Department of Health’s Information Strategy is due to be published next month. It’s been a long time in development—it’s nearly two years since the government consulted on its aim to achieve an “Information Revolution.” So what should the strategy say if it is to start the revolution? Put simply, the strategy needs to address […]
David Payne: Holy Kaw! The Kawasaki ego has landed
I’m not surprised that Guy Kawasaki’s 10th book is called Enchantment: How to Woo, Influence, and Persuade. It takes some chutzpah to assume near–zero knowledge of social media at a scholarly publishing conference but Kawasaki, a former “software evangelist” (I kid you not!) for Apple, pulls it off with an idiot’s guide to curation, tweeting, […]
Martin McShane: NHS MOT
Monday to Friday, for weeks now, there has been a teleconference bringing together the leads from all the major organisations across Lincolnshire involved in health and social care. The ambulance and community services, acute and mental health plus adult social care, are all regularly represented. The meeting is chaired by a commissioner. The purpose is […]
Edzard Ernst: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” Amongst the many misleading arguments, which are frequently used to promote useless treatments, this one occupies a prominent place. When I first heard it, I was impressed: it is succinct and elegant. In fact, it is also entirely logical: the absence of evidence for extra-terrestrial life represents […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review – 19 March 2012
JAMA 14 Mar 2012 Vol 307 1029 The Viewpoint pieces in JAMA this week are a strange mix of fact and fantasy. The first is a piece about industry payments to physicians and teaching hospitals in the USA. I am currently at Yale University alongside the authors of this piece, one of whom is a […]