Without peer review The BMJ could not survive. The journal uses reviewers to help assess the quality and usefulness of about 8000 papers per year. In early 2014, as one of a number of changes designed to make the journal more patient-centered, The BMJ announced that it would recruit patients to […]
Tag: patients
Tessa Richards: Forget fashion—go for value
How much of the care patients receive is determined by their doctor’s decision to provide it as opposed to their need and preference for it? And how much money might be saved if investigations and treatments of limited or no value to patients were stopped? These questions were debated at two recent meetings on practice […]
Nigel Hawkes: Andrew Lansley on your bedside TV
We know that many people occupying hospital beds ought not to be there, either because their earlier care has failed to keep them out or because they can’t be discharged for lack of anywhere to go. But is it quite fair to hasten their departure by subjecting them to all-day Andrew Lansley on their bedside […]
Alan Nye on hitting the 18-week target
Some doctors have been complaining of a targetitis epidemic within the NHS for years. Such world-weariness should not detract from confirmation that the health service in England has achieved its commitment to treat patients within 18 weeks of referral – where clinically appropriate and convenient to the patient. […]
Helen Carnaghan: The messy business of learning
Many things have changed during my transition from medical student to junior doctor. For starters my bank account contains a mysterious thing called money, a 30 minute lunch break is something I dream about and leaving hospital on time a distant memory. Amongst the changes one of the biggest is the way I learn. […]
Peter Lapsley opens up with closing down
I make no apology for beginning with a sad but salutary tale. Governments are charged with spending their health budgets wisely and to best advantage. The prevention of illness – call it “health education” – is a very wise way in which to spend some of the money; far better both for the public and […]
Fiona Godlee: Why pharma should not be allowed to fill the gap in patient information
There was one thing we were all agreed on – proposers and opposers alike – at the Great Oxford Debate last week: there’s a big gap in the quality and quantity of information for patients. Where we disagreed – and starkly – was whether the drug industry should be allowed to fill that gap. Yes […]