am sorry: the comments function does not seem to be working. I’ve asked my  just-back-from-honeymoon webmaster to take a look. I am at margaret.mccartney@ft.com as usual.

Statins are one thing  keep coming back to: we don’t know much about the very long term use – 30, 40 years – that are going to be routine from now on.My concern is that the Yellow Card system may not be accurate or sensitive enough to do pick up infrequent side effects that nevertheless become common […]

I find myself feeling most uncomfortable over the “Find your me spot” campaign  “organised and paid for by Bayer Schering Pharma”. It’s a series of ‘nights out’ for ladies, with tips on fashion, flirting, how to create ‘kissable lips’  – oh, and contraception. Quite a twist on reps taking doctors out for dinner – take prospective […]

Remedy versus GMC . Good luck, Remedy.

I am troubled by hospital league tables for many reasons, but the biggest reason is that I don’ t think, were I using them for myself or a family member, I would rely on them. I think I would rely most on a nurse or a junior doctor telling me if they would, or wouldn’t, […]

From the BMJ . I think very interesting: there is mounting evidence that salt is a problem, but the campaigns to tell us to add less salt to our food seem increasingly futile: you need manufacturers on board. I love salt, but I love it more because when I add it rarely it tastes better: […]

A new guide from Sense about Science, and a very good resource.