Although we are still at the early stages, manufacturers are starting to make individual participant data (IPD) from their clinical trials available. One of the key issues that has to […]
Patient and public perspectives
Joyce Lee: Social media, Google, and the internet are medical therapy
I have to thank my colleague @SusannahFox for alerting me to this Washington Post article—about a campaign by the government in Belgium to get people to stop Googling their symptoms. Check […]
The BMJ Today: Relationships in medicine
Relationships are at the heart of medical practice. These relationships are built on trust and shared clinical, academic, personal, or economic goals. Two articles just published on thebmj.com explore ways to strengthen […]
The BMJ Today: Unravelling the notion of informed patient choice
“Doctor, what would you do in my shoes?” This simple plea for advice from a patient may stump many a doctor. Involving patients in decisions about their care is increasingly […]
Anna Mead-Robson: In defence of paternalism
I recently had the good fortune to attend “Medicine Unboxed,” a two day series of talks and events exploring the links between art and medicine. This year as an audience […]
Paul Laboi: Making dialysis care more person centred
It’s increasingly recognised that empowering people to take a greater role in managing their healthcare is beneficial for both patients and healthcare professionals, especially for those living with long term […]
Neal Maskrey: Treating the patient and not the disease
It was the biggest turnout for many a year. In our small coastal town in the north west of England, 5000 of us stood together bare headed for an hour on […]
Paul Wicks: Patients at the heart of quality of life research
“It seems to me,” said Parkinson’s patient and activist Jon Stamford, “that ‘quality of life’ is when you tell me what’s missing in my life. That seems to me to […]
Rupert Whitaker: A pill for risky sex—another step on the road to a pill for bad housing
PrEP—or chemoprophylaxis against HIV infection, as the less sexy phrase goes—is about using chemicals to prevent yourself from contracting HIV during sex or the sharing of injection equipment, the acronym […]
Cordelia Galgut: Emotional support through breast cancer
Before being diagnosed with primary breast cancer myself, aged 49 in 2004, I would offer emotional support to women with this diagnosis, and arrogantly assume I understood pretty well what […]