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In May 2011 NICE published draft guidance on caesarian sections which were not medically necessary.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
Continue Reading →The Government’s criticisms of PFI don’t add up
Medicine and the Media piece in the BMJ. Free link here
Continue Reading →Are GPs failing new mothers with postnatal depression?
According to the Guardian, on the 1st October, we GPs are. I quote Ann Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, on a survey done of new mothers, which supposedly show most are offered antidepressants, not counselling : “Longfield said that the results of the report were shocking and showed that postnatal depression was not being taken seriously: “It […]
Continue Reading →Client or patient?
I want to be a patient, and to treat patients. Following on from twitter discussion, here’s something I prepared earlier.
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