Tauseef Mehrali: Attack of the clipboards

I sat riveted through Kenneth Branagh’s perceptive portrayal of Ivanov in Chekhov’s eponymous play. Witnessing the desperate depression of the protagonist unfold I couldn’t help thinking how many points he would score on a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), a common screening tool for depression in primary care and a burdensome necessity for accurate clinical coding […]

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Domhnall MacAuley on personal, primary and continuing care … airline style

When the captain said we were 29th in the queue for take off there was a collective sigh. Friday evening, Newark airport, and everyone keen to get back to Europe. It would be 90 minutes between push off from the gate and take off. But, he apologised, explained the situation and, told us he would […]

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Ike Anya: Why organise a conference on Nigerian health….in London?

A quiet milestone passed in May this year, when Nigerians marked nine years of unbroken civilian government, the longest period in the 48 years since independence. A year earlier, the peaceful handover of power from one civilian president to another was another significant milestone. This period has coincided with an era of unprecedented high oil […]

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Laura James on science and journalism

On 19 of October I arrived in Madrid, the the place of beautiful parks, live flamenco, brilliant nightlife, churros, a Spanish type of long thin doughnut, El Rastro, an enormous outdoor market, and the Golden Triangle of art museums. But I wasn’t really there for the tapas, I was there for environmental health matters. I am […]

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Vidhya Alakeson on the credit crunch and US health insurance

Banks, insurance companies and home owners have already fallen victim to the US financial crisis. Now healthcare is under fire. Last week, the state of Hawaii announced that it was ending Keiki Care, the only universal health insurance program for children in the United States. In the face of a projected deficit of $900 million […]

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