Months of pain makes it chronic. Anything else is considered acute. That’s about the extent of the definition given in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10). […]
Patient and public perspectives
Paul Buchanan on Rosamund Snow
Some people are born into the world to enrich it. To give more than they could ever take. To bring to others a rare glimpse into a future we could all […]
Hannah Barham-Brown: Doctoring with a disability
“Can I ask you a question?” “Of course,” I replied, refocusing my attention across the hospital bed to answer my patient’s inquisitive, middle aged son. “Are you a real Doctor? […]
Suzanne Gordon on soliciting input not just listening
Want to be a better physician or nurse leader? Enhance patient safety? Effectively lead teams? One of the current consultant prescriptions is the recommendation that leaders spend more time listening […]
Kawaldip Sehmi: Patient centred regulation for transparent and equitable healthcare
The purpose of drug regulatory institutions should be to safeguard the best interests of the patient and to drive patient centred healthcare worldwide. Consequently, improving public awareness and providing information […]
Tessa Richards: Power to the people—via Paris
Who gets to define value in health systems? The notion that it should be the people who use their services, rather than those who provide them, is gaining momentum. At […]
Bernard Merkel: Should patients really be at the centre of healthcare?
I attended the recent Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) policy forum on the Future of Health, “People at the Centre,” with mixed feelings. [1] On the one hand, the […]
Living with tinnitus and how it’s helped me identify with my patients
My illness presented itself suddenly in the middle of a summer night when tinnitus woke me up like an unwelcome visitor. I waited a few minutes for it to go […]
David Gilbert: “What would a patient led solution to the A+E crisis look like?”
Like many people who spout rhetoric about the NHS, I am guilty of indulging in the blame game. Some professionals and policy makers “blame” patients for “inappropriate attendance” at A&E […]
Paul Buchanan: How not to annoy your doctor
What do we, patients, really want when we phone up to book that appointment? What do we really need? Why do we feel like the only answer is to take […]