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Predicting flu – INSIDE HEALTH, 20/1/15

Forecasting with google flu trends – doesn’t work http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0056176 http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/12016836/The%20Parable%20of%20Google%20Flu%20(WP-Final).pdf?sequence=1 wikipedia was a bit better; correlation of page views and CDC data http://www.ploscompbiol.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pcbi.1003581 or there’s twitter, which fits on historical data modelling http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/article/twitter-improves-influenza-forecasting/ Several models incorporated additional data besides clinical or laboratory-based surveillance data to generate forecasts, including internet search queries and meteorological data. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0094130 […]

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Nalmefene – Inside Health 12/1/15

  Nalmfelene http://www.uptodate.com/contents/pharmacotherapy-for-alcohol-use-disorder/abstract/60-62 Click to access nalmefene_Selincro_FINAL_September_2013_website.pdf COIs in researchers http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2017/rr/692223 http://www.europeanneuropsychopharmacology.com/article/S0924-977X(13)00075-8/abstract NICE guidance http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta325 http://www.ema.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR_-_Public_assessment_report/human/002583/WC500140326.pdf         Statins and diabetes http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g3244 http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61183-1/abstract http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/keyfacts/teenage-and-young-adult-cancer/   Cancer diagnosis in primary care Click to access CDS-evaluation-report-Executive-summary.pdf   Click to access c478823affb31a36bb141d494008f175.pdf   GP access in primary care http://www.rcgp.org.uk/news/2014/february/34m-patients-will-fail-to-get-appointment-with-a-gp-in-2014.aspx http://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/blog/wicked-problem-access-telephone-solution http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)61058-8/abstract?rss=yes http://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/talks/slideshows/jon-nicoll-induced-demand-and-use-emergency-care   http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g7228

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PLAC test – notes and references

http://www.plactest.com/healthcare/ -PLA2 testing is well-studied and published in peer-reviewed scientific literature and is recognized in the guidelines of the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association7,8 About 10% to 20% of persons with coronary heart disease (CHD) have no identifiable risk factor,1 and 35% of CHD deaths occur in patients who have total serum […]

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Submission to PAC – NHS complaints and clinical failure

Closes on 16/1/15   http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/public-administration-select-committee/inquiries/parliament-2010/nhs-complaints-and-clinical-failure/commons-written-submission-form/   1.       The effectiveness of the NHS’s current approach to investigating and addressing untoward medical incidents.   Currently there is a blame culture, a culture of fear, and a culture of litigation in clinical practice. This is partially driven by the way the NHS has chosen to investigate clinical incidents […]

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Fat NHS staff. Inside Health 6/1/15

doctors not leading by example BMJ column on this http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g6464notes on what food chains are on NHS premises http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11006903/NHS-hospital-cafes-are-helping-to-fuel-the-obesity-crisis.html RCP audit of workplaces Click to access organisational-audit-of-implementation-of-nice-public-health-guidance-for-the-workplace-full-report_0_0.pdf advice to stop smoking from doctors http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC28587/ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD000165.pub4/abstract smoking vs non smoking doctor advice http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0738399108003935 overweight vs non overweight doctors advice http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/oby.2011.402/abstract http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743513001503

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Response to PHE Healthchecks consultation

Here is my response to PHE consultation on Healthchecks. It has to be submitted by the 19th Dec.     Overall comments The tone of the document is disappointing. The Healthchecks programme has been mandated for some time, in the ‘absence of direct randomised controlled trials to guide it’ – in the words of PHE.  […]

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RCGP Council 22nd Nov 14

1) CQC. I think I said that the data dump by the CQC was mince and that I was very concerned about the lack of proven validity and the chosen targets which supposedly exemplify quality. I should have a column in the BMJ about this soon. 2) Obesity. I reiterated that GPs do not have […]

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