Is poverty yet another word that is so misunderstood we should stop using it—at least in Britain? John Lanchester, a friend of mine, argued so in the Observer. Can he possibly […]
Richard Smith
Richard Smith was the editor of The BMJ until 2004.
Richard Smith: Is global health too medicalised?
When I teach young doctors in Amsterdam about responding to NCD (non-communicable disease) in low and middle income countries, I ask them how they would allocate 100 units of resource. […]
Richard Smith: Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, live
When Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, was buying his Sunday papers a few weeks ago he encountered an elderly woman complaining that her newspaper didn’t contain the television […]
Richard Smith: “Psoriasis is my health”
To most doctors psoriasis is a disease to be fought, contained, and even cured, but is this far too narrow a view? John Updike, one of the greatest writers in […]
Richard Smith: Why scientists should be held to a higher standard of honesty than the average person
Although it may seem harsh, I believe that scientists should be held to a higher standard of honesty than the average person. The consequence is that they will be punished […]
Richard Smith: I hate going to the doctor
I hate going to the doctor. Don’t you? My statement is unsurprising as I’m a man and a doctor (of sorts), two groups who are known to dislike going to […]
Richard Smith: “All problems are ultimately linguistic problems”
“All problems are ultimately linguistic problems,” says Muir Gray, once NHS chief knowledge officer, misquoting the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. But I don’t think that he misquoted him badly, and that […]
Richard Smith: Misunderstanding conflict of interest
In Britain we have had a row over whether a judge, Elizabeth Butler Sloss, should chair an inquiry into child abuse. Everybody agrees that she has the necessary skills and […]
Richard Smith: Three myths blocking progress against NCD
The church at the House of St Barnabas was standing room only to hear Professor Robert Lustig, a paediatric endocrinologist from San Francisco, castigate our current attempts to counter the […]
Richard Smith: The best doctors and their errors
I’m listening to Sandy Ruddles (not her real name), an ordinary general physician who does some rheumatology, present a case, and I’m feeling some regret at having given up the […]