Tops, frocks, bananas, and coffee—these are likely to be your top answers when asked to think of “fair trade.” Historically, the fashion industry and agriculture sector have claimed the top […]
Month: March 2016
Jon Brassey: The rise of rapid reviews
This blog is part of a series of blogs linked with BMJ Clinical Evidence, a database of systematic overviews of the best available evidence on the effectiveness of commonly used […]
Jay Achar: Drug resistant tuberculosis—not just a precursor to the post-antibiotic apocalypse
In 2015 the world woke up to the idea that the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) will ultimately lead to a post-antibiotic era in which even simple medical treatments will […]
Mohammad Razai: What have we learnt from our work in Botswana?
Three years ago I travelled to Gaborone, Botswana for my medical elective. I was there to learn about glaucoma—the complex eye disease and so called “silent thief of sight.” After […]
Jeanne Lenzer: The Backstory—The New York Doctors’ Riot
Harriet Washington, a medical ethicist and author, opened a recent talk saying, “Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, heroes of the newly minted American Republic, did not spend 15 April 1788, […]
James Raftery on a short history of NICE
A terrible beauty: A short history of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence by Nicholas Timmins, Michael Rawlins and John Appleby. Free download. This story of NICE is […]
Richard Smith: Turning round failing hospitals
The Care Quality Commission has placed 27 health institutions, most of them hospitals, into “special measures,” and so far 11 have emerged. Few jobs can be tougher or lonelier than […]
Suzanne Gordon on the difficult patient
Today it’s hard to find a healthcare professional who doesn’t want to “put the patient first,” practise “patient centered care,” or make the patient “part” or even “the centre” of the […]
Alice Gerth: Junior doctors find their voice
As the strikes continue and the BMA votes to escalate action I have been searching for some of the more positive aspects of the present situation. Over the past few […]
Michelle White on Mercy Ships—providing free and safe surgery to some of the poorest parts of the world
Millions of people face financial ruin to afford surgery. Five billion to be precise, that’s how many people in the world currently have to weigh up the dilemma of financial […]