California is in the grip of a whooping cough epidemic, with 800 cases reported in the first two weeks of June alone. Outbreaks like these are not uncommon in the […]
Month: June 2014
Hugh Alderwick: NHS performance—are we really getting it right?
According to the Commonwealth Fund, in the UK we’re getting it (mostly) right—or, at least, we’re getting it more right than our international counterparts. In their comparative study of health […]
Isobel Braithwaite: Taking bold steps to curb climate change
At the end of May, US President Barack Obama unveiled new power plant standards, which are designed to cut pollution and curb greenhouse gas emissions. He should be applauded for […]
The BMJ Today: What about the patients?
“The BMJ is to be applauded for taking the lead in facilitating meaningful patient partnership,” posted Effy Vayena, senior research fellow at the University of Zurich, yesterday on bmj.com in […]
Richard Smith: A book of poems for medical graduates
What should you give doctors when they graduate? An expensive stethoscope, a Ferrari, a lifetime subscription to The BMJ, a ticket to India, or a pet canary? The answer of […]
Richard Lehman’s journal review—23 June 2014
NEJM 19 Jun 2014 Vol 370 2387 If you have a patient who is taking an opioid for chronic, non-cancer pain and gets constipated as a result, what do you […]
The BMJ Today: Keeping costs down
Researchers have calculated that billions of dollars could be saved if all eye doctors in the United States used the less expensive option of two drugs (bevacizumab and ranibizumab), which […]
Simon Capewell: Spending NHS funds on weight management services—naughty or NICE?
I have been asked to write about the recent NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) recommendations on weight management services. I didn’t want to, I am already crazy […]
William Cayley: EBM—curing and comforting
A recent article in The BMJ on the crisis in evidence based medicine (EBM) did a great job of both summarizing challenges that have developed over the past 20 years, and […]
The BMJ Today: Health challenges across the divide
Overdiagnosis and over-treatment of malaria is a major problem in South and central Asia, where malaria is a minority cause of febrile illness, and primary health centres often rely on […]