The birth of the Cochrane logo Twenty four summers ago I asked David Mostyn to design a logo to illustrate the objectives of the soon-to-be-opened Cochrane Centre. He did a […]
Columnists
Richard Smith: Can the NHS ever manage to analyse data to improve patient care?
In order to improve patient outcomes the NHS badly needs to collect data on all that is happening, analyse it intelligently, and present the information to clinicians and managers in […]
Neville Goodman’s Metaphor Watch: Not a raft unless it’s flat and keeps you afloat
Raft has three primary meanings (COD): a flat buoyant structure or small boat; a floating mass of fallen trees, ice, etc.; foundation concrete for a building. From the second meaning […]
Sian M Griffiths: How to implement handwashing with soap in schools
11 March 2016 was an important day for global public health. It was the day the UN adopted a hygiene indicator as part of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6–the goal […]
William Cayley: Numerical minimal change disease
What difference makes a difference? We often encourage patients to make small behavioral changes, in the hope that even one step in the right direction is at least small progress. […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I use a word . . . A word about empathy
Empathy is becoming a 21st century biomedical fashion, judging by the number of papers on the subject (figure). But the concept is not new. The word is first recorded in […]
Tiago Villanueva: Family medicine and private health insurance in Portugal
I read with interest some recent articles about the interplay between private healthcare insurance and state provided healthcare. [1][2][3] A substantial proportion of the population has private health insurance in […]
Richard Smith: Is flexible working good or bad for health?
Australia, like Britain, pushed hard for more flexible working in the labour market in the 80s, and all political parties and trade unions supported it because they assumed that it […]
Nicholas S Hopkinson reviews “The state of medicine”
“I am furious, sad, and scared for the NHS” —Margaret McCartney’s opening words in the introduction to her latest, timely book, The State of Medicine (Pinter and Martin 2016). Understandable sentiments, […]
Desmond O’Neill: Mozart in the ballpark
A live telecast of The Marriage of Figaro to a baseball stadium from the Kennedy Centre provided a delightful and illuminating synergy with the 2016 conference of the National Centre […]