We still have a lot to learn about how effective psychedelics are in the treatment of depression, but even if the evidence is there, patients and prescribers are likely to […]
Guest writers
Miles Sibley: We need to change the hierarchy of evidence-based medicine
In July 2020, the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review published a report entitled “First Do No Harm”.1 Also known as the Cumberlege Review, the report set out extensive […]
Covid-19 vaccines: where are the data?
Through press releases, three pharmaceutical companies recently announced the interim, positive results of their covid-19 vaccine candidates clinical trials. Firstly, Pfizer/BioNTech presented the initial results for their mRNA based BNT162b2 […]
Keerti Gedela: Who is valuable in academia? Reassessing priorities and purpose
The covid-19 pandemic has made all working people reassess their priorities and purpose, and for many these have now changed. This is particularly true for people in caring roles, and […]
Roger Wilson: Patients should be involved from the outset in creating plain English summaries of research papers
I am a writer and journalist. I explain things. I listen, I question, I check. I have been involved with cancer research as a patient for 20 years now. One […]
NICE’s guideline on the management of people with an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: an unexplained U turn
In March 2020, as the covid-19 pandemic was escalating in the UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its delayed National Guideline (NG156) on the management […]
Trudi Seneviratne: Collaborative support from healthcare professionals is vital in helping parents with the early years
New report highlights importance of early years for children’s physical and mental wellbeing—we must listen We’ve all heard it before—being a parent can be the most rewarding, not to mention […]
Coping with medicines after hospital discharge—the “belt and braces” approach
We must support our patients to plan what they will do with their medicines after they leave the hospital, writes Justine Tomlinson […]
Victoria Brazil: Translational simulation—realising the promise for improving healthcare
Simulation can help healthcare teams overcome their real world challenges, but it requires an understanding of the complexity of performance, says Victoria Brazil […]
Covid-19: controversial trial may actually show that masks protect the wearer
The current question “to mask or not to mask?” has again unmasked our limitations in interpreting medical research and in handling the associated uncertainty, argues James Brophy […]