The two driving principles of the new NHS Commissioning Board are transparency and participation. If they are applied radically then they can transform the NHS, said Tim Kelsey, National Director […]
Richard Smith
Richard Smith was the editor of The BMJ until 2004.
Richard Smith: Reporting guidelines for case reports
The Equator network of guidelines on reporting health research, a hugely valuable resource, has 200 guidelines, but none of them are for case reports. So as case reports seem to […]
Richard Smith: Stratified medicine vs the polypill
In the past month I’ve attended contrasting meetings on the polypill and stratified medicine that leave me wondering about the future of medicine. The problem that the polypill tries to […]
Richard Smith: Stratified, personalised, or precision medicine
Doctors know that many of the patients they treat with drugs will not benefit. Many patients know that too, which may be why some don’t take their drugs. The simple […]
Richard Smith: A successful and cheerful whistleblower
Peter Wilmshurst is that rare thing—a successful whistleblower. What’s more, he’s a cheerful one, despite having lost £25 000, faced bankruptcy and the loss of his house, and spent every […]
Richard Smith: Trying to impact the real world
Cochrane systematic reviews provide perhaps the best evidence available on health, but do they improve the care of patients and shape health policy? This was the question addressed at one […]
Richard Smith: Polypill summit hears of slow progress
The idea of combining antihypertensive drugs, a statin, and sometimes aspirin into a polypill to prevent heart attacks and strokes is now a dozen years old, but still no drug […]
Richard Smith: Is the BMJ too sensitive about libel?
I must begin by making clear that I think the BMJ magnificent, much improved from when I was the editor. I particularly applaud the introduction of indepth investigative journalism. I’m […]
Richard Smith: How to start the day
It is a bold and foolish person who advises others how to live, but I can’t resist a little advice. I’m not going to tell you how to be smarter, […]
Richard Smith: Non-communicable disease in the Eastern Mediterranean Region
The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) of WHO has some of the highest rates of non-communicable disease (NCD) in the world. Six of the countries with the highest rates of diabetes […]