Words that sound wonderful can come back to haunt you. As a case in point, I recently responded to Elizabeth Wortley’s eloquent blog “Please refrain from using that kind of […]
US healthcare
Deborah Kirkham: Abortion in America—are church and state really separate?
Never talk about religion, politics, or sex the old adage goes. The continuing debate about abortion covers all three, which may go someway to explaining the fervor with which all […]
William Cayley: Out with the old (and practical) and in with the new (and techie)?
Out with the old and in with the new? Improvements in the quality and portability of electronic diagnostic equipment have led to increasing discussion of late over the possible demise […]
David Kerr: A bump on the road to mHealth utopia?
A recent clinical trial’s finding that digital health technology (also known as mHealth) failed to reduce healthcare costs is raising eyebrows on this side of the Atlantic. For naysayers the […]
William Cayley: Christmas thoughts
The Christmas holidays annually are a time for jolliness, cheer, and fun—from “Ugly Sweater” events to “White Elephant” gifts, and even The BMJ Christmas issue. It’s all in good fun, it […]
William Cayley: Is the Good Samaritan the wrong metaphor to use for doctors?
A story from the Christian New Testament has provided the literary namesake for countless medical facilities, as well as legal and ethical principles guiding care for those in need, but […]
William Cayley: To doctor is to diagnose—part two
Having recently posted some thoughts on the continuing centrality of diagnosis in doctoring, I was happy to see the recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report “Improving Diagnosis in Healthcare.” I […]
William Cayley: The value of the tweet
I’ve only recently begun tweeting, but have already been struck by the challenge of sometimes trying to convey complex ideas in 144 characters or less. The combinations of abbreviations, “hashtags,” […]
Claire McDaniel: Mixing business with medicine
Twice a week, in the evenings, I cheat on one of the greatest loves of my life. I sneak away from my friends, slip out of the library, and leave […]
Saurabh Jha: Saving Normal
The iconoclastic psychiatrist Thomas Szasz said that mental illness was metaphorical, not real, because mental diseases lacked biological substrates. The absence of a substrate predisposes psychiatry to overdiagnosis and avoiding overdiagnosis is […]