The symbol of the Tohono O’odham, a native American tribe, is a man in a maze (see below). All of us, they believe, are born into a maze. We have […]
Richard Smith
Richard Smith was the editor of The BMJ until 2004.
Richard Smith: Supporting high quality children’s heart care in China
In 2007 I arrived in Beijing at the start of a philanthropic exercise, and as I was driven into the city and stared at the modern buildings I thought: “Why […]
Richard Smith: Burnt or buried?
Some things divide us fundamentally. Are you male or female, gay or straight, right wing or left wing? Another fundamental division, I suggest, is whether we want to be burnt […]
Richard Smith: Optimism in mental health
Last year I attended a meeting in Heidelberg on treatment of mental health problems and came away with a bleak view of the lack of progress. This week in another […]
Richard Smith: Can polio be eradicated or will it flare again?
In 1988 the World Health Assembly passed a resolution calling for the eradication of polio by 2000. There were 350 000 cases in 1988, and by 2000 the number had […]
Richard Smith: What is sustainable intelligence?
At a recent party to honour David Pencheon, head of the NHS Sustainability Unit, we were all invited to have a go at defining sustainable intelligence. When I was a […]
Richard Smith: Records in the NHS: an Achilles heel
I always rather enjoy being processed by the NHS. Instead of my usual panoramic (and perhaps highly misleading) view I’m down in the scrub. What struck me in my latest […]
Richard Smith: Blog or book?
< Is it better to write blogs or a book? I wondered this the other night as I attended the party to celebrate the launch of a friend's book. […]
Richard Smith and Melanie Lovell: Should doctors respect patients’ requests not to know?
What follows is an email debate between Melanie Lovell, a palliative care physician in Sydney, and Richard Smith, former editor of the BMJ and chair of Patients Know Best. The […]
Richard Smith: 10 tips on using and enjoying social media
Tomorrow I’m running a workshop for medical students at Imperial College London on medical journalism, and I thought it essential to include something on using and enjoying social media. I […]