Can we imagine a world 20 years from now that no longer has health professionals? Instead of regulated health professionals anybody could offer healthcare—and perhaps much of it would be healthcare rather than sickness care. Patients with diabetes might offer care to other patients, and robots with superior technology might provide round the clock not […]
Last week marked a “humiliating climbdown” for the Health Secretary. Apparently. “Andrew Lansley is now in open retreat and is being forced to cave in on issues he previously fought to the hilt,” said his Labour nemesis Andy Burnham. And so why does his acquiescence to an amendment demanding he take ultimate responsibility for the […]
While I was a partner in general practice, we started to receive information about how we were performing compared to other practices. Whatever the data, we always looked at how we benchmarked against one particular practice. It was about the same size as ours, not far away (so serving the same sort of population), and we […]
JAMA 26 Oct 2011 Vol 306 1775 There is now pretty clear evidence that CT scanning to detect lung cancer in heavy smokers can save lives. This Dutch study shows that the same scans can also detect chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in about 38% of the smokers they recruited. In this population the sensitivity of […]
“Research highlights” is a weekly round-up of research papers appearing in the print BMJ. We start off with this week’s research questions, before providing more detail on some individual research papers and accompanying articles. […]
Since the internet erupted onto the scene in the 80s and 90s it has changed how we work and interact socially. Whereas before to communicate with someone in another part of the UK or world, it would require a phone call, letter, or a trip, now we can send instant messages, emails, or conduct “face to […]
Three months in prison for a kiss on the back. Weeping in the dock with the realisation of the implication. A moment of madness. And that is the point. Madness is not the same as badness. A 45 year old male GP from Wanchai was examining a 25 year old female. She was lying face down on […]
The deep end. Floundering, treading water, trying to avoid drowning in the multiple morbidity, clinical complexity, and long, detailed, and difficult consultations in areas of deprivation. At the shallow end, GPs also work hard but can feel the bottom. Graham Watt (Glasgow) described his work with GPs working in the most deprived areas of Glasgow […]
¡Hola! from Madrid where the 19th Cochrane Colloquium was hosted last week by the IberoAmerican Cochrane Centre. The theme of this year’s meeting was “scientific evidence for healthcare quality and patient safety.” As all of us – at one time or another – are patients of the healthcare system, the synthesis of interventions to reduce adverse […]
Despite being 18 months away from taking over responsibility for public health, local government has already had its first clash with the NHS. It illustrates the cultural chasm the two will have to bridge if they are to make their new relationship a success. The spat with the NHS leadership at the Department of Health […]