The medical press is carrying a lot about the latest international arguments about breast screening. The BMJ carried an excellent editorial ‘Mammography wars” highlighting the recent Canadian taskforce on the subject. This called for a halt to routine breast examination, and a starting age of 50 before starting screening mammography, which they recommended to be […]
Continue Reading →recent BMJ articles
Free links, for reference Barnardo’s misleading survey: publicity at what cost? and Worst cases of patient care in the NHS and wee news piece Janssen funds networking site to promote better mental health commissioning There was also a piece in the Times about paracetamol but it’s behind a wall.
Continue Reading →Dr Foster, association and causation
The headlines today have been driven by publication of the ‘Dr Foster’ (“the UK’s leading provider of comparative information on health and social care services”) annual hospital guide. The Guardian have reported it as have the Telegraph, who headline “Experts warn hospitals not to cut staff over weekend death risk.” They have presented their data as […]
Continue Reading →False hope and real living
The Quackometer has had some rather unpleasant emails following his criticism of the Burzynski clinic. The issue is that some people wanted to kindly raise money for a child with cancer to be treated there, when the evidence for the proffered interventions is questionable. Other people have examined the science very well. There is something […]
Continue Reading →Nuffield Health : adverts and evidence
This is an advert from this week’s BMJ. I am positively fuming about it. Nuffield Health are responsible for some non evidence based practices via their ‘health assessments‘. These currently consist of annual mammograms for women over 40, annual cervical smears, pelvic (ie vaginal) examination, urine analysis, ‘hydration levels’ and a chest xray ‘if […]
Continue Reading →General practitioners and sickness absence
Currently, it works like this. If you are ill and unable to work, you sign yourself off work for the first 7 days. This is self-certification. After this, you need a doctors’ line – the so-called Fit Note. This is a certificate from the doctor to say that you are currently unable to work due […]
Continue Reading →NICE, caesarian sections and the weekend press
In May 2011 NICE published draft guidance on caesarian sections which were not medically necessary. The guidance they have drafted is cut and pasted below. Over the weekend there was extensive coverage of the guidance. Here is the Daily Mail, Channel 4 News, The Sun, and the Independent; there was also a Press Association notice. It all […]
Continue Reading →Review of breast cancer screening evidence
Professor Susan Bewley challenged Prof Mike Richards on the evidence for her invite to breast screening, in the BMJ. He responded by saying a review was already underway, but it sounds like a weird review. He says that “An independent review of the research evidence (randomised controlled studies and observational studies) is being undertaken, led […]
Continue Reading →Show us the evidence for the flu jab
Article in Pulse magazine about flu vaccination in healthcare professionals. Concluding; there is not good enough evidence, and we should be invited to join a trial, not told we are ‘selfish’ for not having it. (Free registration required)
Continue Reading →Off label prescribing in macular degeneration
article in the BMJ, with free link here
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