The characteristics of health systems are complexity, uncertainty, opacity, poor measurement, variability in decision making, asymmetry of information, conflict of interest, and corruption. They are thus largely a black box […]
Richard Smith
Richard Smith was the editor of The BMJ until 2004.
Richard Smith: Database of cases launched
Every 36 hours the NHS treats a million people. Across the world there are billions of interactions between patients and health systems every year. Each of those patients is a […]
Richard Smith: Why not auction your paper?
The idea has long been around that instead of submitting your paper to one journal you should auction it to the highest bidder. Today I did it. As we all […]
Richard Smith: National programmes to prevent diabetes
Europe has started 187 programmes to prevent diabetes, but fewer than 10 survived to the end of funding, said Peter Schwarz from Dresden, at the World Congress on Prevention of […]
Richard Smith: Patient organisations—the need to come together
“There is no kingdom too small for a doctor to be king of,” is one of my favourite sayings. Last week at a workshop for patient organisations organised by the […]
Richard Smith: Why I should become a lobbyist
“I’ve been lobbied. I am a lobbyist. Lobbying is not a dirty word. It’s a fundamental part of the political process. You should be a lobbyist.” This is how David […]
Richard Smith: Monkeys help explain why poor people are fatter
Within all human hierarchies those lower in the hierarchy have poorer health than those higher up. In high income countries poor people are fatter than rich people, and, although the […]
Richard Smith: Accelerating towards the future of publishing science
One of the conclusions of Ben Goldacre’s important book Bad Pharma is that our current system of publishing science is broken. More and more people are reaching that conclusion, and […]
Richard Smith: We need more doctor entrepreneurs
The NHS, UK PLC, and the wider world will all benefit if we have more doctor entrepreneurs willing to take risks and start up companies. Starting up a company can […]
Richard Smith: Meet and learn from Dr Twitter
At a meeting in Copenhagen earlier this week Bertalan Mesko was introduced as “the world leader in social media and medicine.” After listening to him and looking at some of […]