The European Medicines Agency’s definition of a medication error, published last year, is “an unintended failure in the treatment process that leads to, or has the potential to lead to, […]
Latest articles
David Payne: Do we still need hospitals (and hospital beds)?
During a conference coffee break last week two physiotherapists pushed a hospital bed through the networking area, along with a wheelie bin overflowing with “redundant” bed-related paraphernalia—monitors, clipboards, etc. The […]
Recognising vulnerabilities and building resilience: A UK conference on migrant health
“My problem is your problem.” These were the words of a mother of four who has been waiting for a decision on her asylum claim for 17 years, and who […]
Birte Twisselmann: “It is not your fault”: 4.48 Psychosis—the opera
In the same month in which British journalist Sally Brampton died at age 60 after purportedly walking into the sea near her home on England’s south coast after decades of […]
How does Salford Royal Hospital’s decision to close its kitchen fit with the aims of new Devo Manc?
Good health is not equally distributed throughout society, a fact that has been well established since the publication of the controversial “Black Report” in the 1980s. There are a number of […]
Céline Miani and Eleanor Winpenny: Can hospital services work in primary care settings?
As Martin Roland explained in an editorial in The BMJ a few months ago, general practice is facing substantial challenges. Contributing factors include problems recruiting, rising workload, increasing stress, and doctors retiring early. […]
Shelby Quast: Is cosmetic labiaplasty in adolescents just FGM under a different name?
Labiaplasty in girls younger than 18 has become increasingly popular in the US in recent years. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of girls aged 18 and […]
Edward Wernick and Steve Manley: Meaningful patient collaboration—the end of the beginning . . .
The delay between this blog and the last one in November on the new King’s Fund Collaborative Pairs Programme reflects the level of work that we have been dealing with over the […]
David Payne: Matisse, decoupage, and digital health
Are there lessons in the life and work of French artist Henri Matisse that could help regulators navigate the brave new world of digital healthcare? How can the experience of […]
Remembering Jean Martin Charcot: The “Napoleon of Neuroses”
Jean Martin Charcot (pictured) (1825-1893) was one of the great pioneers of neurology—the so called Napoleon of the neuroses. He was the first to describe multiple sclerosis, named the “shaking palsy” […]