Health care needs a new way to measure success – one that values what actually produces health. For decades, financial flows – revenues, reimbursements, spending and productivity – have dominated how modern industrialized nations judge success in health care. But these measures conceal the healthcare system’s most consequential losses: worsening patient outcomes and eroding trust, […]
Latest articles
The right to health is being challenged in Argentina. By Jontan Konfino
Since December 2023, Argentina is under President´s Milei administration that is characterized by a discriminatory rhetoric, big budget cuts that undermine the fundamentals of a welfare state and poses a risk to guarantee many human rights.[i] In that direction the National Ministry of Health has undergone several changes in its structure that has resulted in […]
Leading the AI Transition in Hospital Medicine: A Nocturnist’s Reflection. By Nilesh Patel
Artificial intelligence (AI) has permeated everyday life, from chatbots to video generators. In medicine, AI has shown remarkable promise in specific specialties: detecting skin cancers, interpreting chest X-rays, identifying colonic polyps, and recognizing early myocardial infarction. Yet, despite these advances, hospital medicine has not seen the same level of integration into routine practice. We recently […]
The Migrants Are Coming — So What Kind of Leader Will You Be? By Priyesh Patel
“The migrants are coming.” This is the opening sentence of my recent TEDxNHS Talk. A warning we’ve heard many times now. It’s a line designed to provoke, because the debate on migration has become saturated with fear, slogans, and political noise. Yet behind those headlines are real people whose health needs don’t pause at borders. […]
From the Ground Up: How a Specialist Interest Group Is Shaping Radiographer Strategic Senior Leadership. By Janice St. John-Matthews and Gareth Hill
“I never saw myself as a strategic leader, until I joined the group.” This reflection from one of our members captures the quiet but profound transformation that can occur when radiographers are given space to lead, connect, and grow. Hosted by the UK Society of Radiographers, the Senior Strategic Leadership Specialist Interest Group (SSL-SIG) is […]
The Future of Medical Leadership: Evolving roles, capabilities, and the impact of artificial intelligence. By Erwin Loh and Paul Eleftheriou
The Chief Medical Officer* (CMO) role is changing fast. So fast, potentially training can’t keep up. This is an important development as the stakes for effective leadership have never been higher. Today’s CMOs need to manage clinical governance, shape workforce culture, and drive strategic reform – often simultaneously – with limited support, competing operational priorities […]
Healthcare data: The key to improvement and efficiency. By Dame Celia Ingham Clark
Former NHS England deputy Medical Director, Dame Celia Ingham Clark, explains why clinical audit must play a key role in designing an NHS that is “Fit for the Future” The challenges that the NHS faces are not new. With an ageing population and staff shortages, we are faced with daily news headlines about soaring costs […]
In Conversation with MaryAnn Ferreux
To watch this interview, please follow this link Hello, I’m Domhnall MacAuley, and welcome to this BMJ Leader conversation, where we talk to the key opinion leaders in health and medicine around the world. Today I’m talking to MaryAnn Ferreux who has the remarkable title of Chief Medical Officer for Health innovation. But even more […]
Research Handbook on Leadership in Social Work and Social Care – A book review by Carrie Stephenson
As someone with over 30 years’ experience in social care, leading services and mentoring leaders, I was interested to read this book as it contains so many diverse perspectives within the field of health and social care. To me, the distinctive value of the handbook lies in the huge wealth of contributors (over 60), who […]
Leading from the Imperial Core: Medicine, Listening and Solidarity. By Guddi Singh
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced” [1]. James Baldwin, the Black American writer and civil-rights essayist, captures why the truth about healthcare is heavy — and clarifying. Those of us in clinical and organisational leadership are used to carrying targets, safety metrics and workforce […]