In my last blog, I addressed calls for raw research data to be made available. Like most other discussions about publishing data I started from the assumption that individual information must be kept confidential at all costs. That’s a helpful stance when considering the classic doctor-patient relationship but I wonder if it is always necessary […]
Douglas Noble on the public health white paper
Last week the British Medical Association hosted a listening event for over 200 public health professionals, including representatives from various public health bodies (Faculty of Public Health, Royal Society for Public Health, UK Public Health Association, Chartered Institute for Environmental Health, Association of Directors of Public Health and Royal College of Nursing). […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review – 17 January 2011
JAMA 12 Jan 2011 Vol 305 151 “Behavioral Therapy With or Without Biofeedback and Pelvic Floor Electrical Stimulation for Persistent Postprostatectomy Incontinence: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” As so often with titles like this, you have to explore the text before you can tell what the study is really about. In the UK, “behavioural therapy” usually […]
Julian Sheather: This is the way the world ends – not with a bang but a leak
I was at the Frontline Club recently, watching how the world changes. A grandiose claim perhaps, the latter, but the occasion was a debate on the journalistic impact of the Wikileaks phenomenon. Vaughan Smith, the club’s owner, is currently giving handsome houseroom to Julian Assange, Wikileaks’ founder. In journalistic terms a slightly starry line-up: Ian […]
Research highlights, 14 January 2011
“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. […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: Loss of access to global health journals in Bangladesh and beyond
Earlier this week, my organization was blindsided by the news that 2500 journals were being withdrawn from access using HINARI. For anyone unfamiliar with HINARI, it is an acronym for Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initative. This was established by the World Health Organization to grant access to free or low cost biomedical and health […]
Martin McShane: Take me to your leader
There are a number of variants on the cartoon about an alien asking someone or something to “take me to your leader.” Of course we all laugh because we can see the alien doesn’t realise they are approaching the wrong person or thing. Now, there is a new version being played out between PCTs and […]
Richard Smith: How to stop the medical arms race?
Growth in spend on healthcare grew faster than growth in the gross domestic product in every OECD country between 2000 and 2008. That’s the main reason why every country, including Britain, is trying some form of health reform. The growth in spend on healthcare is unsustainable, and, as I’ve joked before, the US may be […]
Andrew Burd on plagiarism revisited
I recently shared some thoughts on plagiarism, which is an issue of significant concern to teachers, academics generally and journal editors. Now another concern has been raised and although this relates more to school and undergraduate writing, there is no doubt that without some critical and inspired thinking, this new phenomenon is going to erode […]
David Nicholl: It’s the BMJ wot won it, and the NHS should think like Tesco
In November, I had decided to challenge the impasse over the availability of an effective, but unlicensed, medication for Lambert Eaton Myasthenic syndrome by writing an FP10 for the cheaper unlicensed DAP on Channel 4 news. So what happened next? […]