The DoH ‘Bare Below the Elbows’ theme has been going on for a few years now. The original document, you may remember, is here, from 2007, and stated that research on workwear and infection prevention had been done, was not yet published, but contained the following: “There is no conclusive evidence that uniforms (or other […]
Continue Reading →Best new website
Well done to the people behind NNT.com – good information about Numbers Needed To Treat, all in one place. I will be using this in the day job, so thank you. I’d urge them though, next revision, to think about graphical illustrations which there is research suggesting is best understood by patients. Read the one […]
Continue Reading →“He just looked at it”
An amazing defence for a PCT employee spending his time looking at medical records of patients. This is a prime reason for joining the Big Opt Out – the easier it is for people to access your confidential data, the more it will be done.
Continue Reading →Modern quackery
..is rife, and I am so pleased that the Daily Mail have had a hand in upholding a GMC complaint against one doctor offering expensive unproven treatment for Multiple Sclerosis. Shall the GMC now going to reach further and wider and root out some more examples of non evidence based treatments being offered by their […]
Continue Reading →Oliver James vs Genetics
Rather a nasty spat on the Today programme this am; the issue being that of a paper on the genetics in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, published online in the Lancet. The paper had found a slightly increased risk of ADHD with a particular genetic pattern. Having this pattern did not necessarily lead to autism. Children with […]
Continue Reading →Thank you
I’m so touched by the emails in response to my last in the FT: I will reply to each one (just back from a September weekend in wild woods, no batteries on iphone) over the next few days. In the meantime, here’s a quickie from the Times today about risks and benefits of aspirin (or […]
Continue Reading →300K for a GP?
The average GP doesn’t earn this much, but anyway, earning 300K as an NHS GP is now possible. How? The usual way is for one GP to be the managing director of several NHS surgeries. Most will employ salaried doctors and nurses to deliver care; the profit becomes singularly that of the managing doctor/director. It’s […]
Continue Reading →My last FT col
..will be printed this Saturday. It’s quite good fun doing a column but the dread and terror of getting things wrong doesn’t really improve with time. . .
Continue Reading →Carl Elliott on opinion leaders
Excellent article. Looking forward to reading his book.
Continue Reading →Prostate cancer screening: what do the papers actually say?
Lots of press attention has gathered around the latest research on prostate cancer screening. To be clear: there is no NHS screening programme for prostate cancer screening. Instead, if men want a screening PSA test they can ask for it from their GP. The DoH’s press release in response to the latest research looks like this: […]
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