China’s New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme, aims to provide health insurance to 800 million rural citizens. We’ll be finding out from Scott Rozelle, from Stanford University and Qingye Meng from Peking University, the background to the formation of the scheme, and its place in the wider Chinese medical system.
A BMJ investigation this week raises concerns about the ability of the US Food and Drug Administration to monitor the safety of medical devices through post-approval surveillance. We ask: is the FDA giving device manufacturers an easy regulatory ride? Also, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is set to lose the power to restrict the use of any drug that exceeds its £30k cost per quality adjusted life year ceiling. Alan Maynard, professor of health economics at the Un...
This week the podcast’s all about risk, as we bring you two reports from Risky Business, the conference where speakers from a wide range of hazardous industries came together to share ideas. Pat Crosskerry tells Rebecca Coombes how his work shows thinking more analytically, and less intuitively, could help doctors make better diagnostic decisions, and save lives. We also look at the contentious subject of medical litigation, and ask if it improves patient safety.
This week Dulcie McBride, a consultant in public health at University College London, joins us to talk about the UK’s practice variation in referring to secondary care. Also Simon Wright, head of health at Save the Children, the BMJ’s Christmas charity, talks to Rebecca Coombes about how the money you donate helps health care in some of the world’s poorest countries.
This week we’re joined by Jack Wennberg, author of the Dartmoth Atlas of Healthcare. He and Fiona Godlee discuss his work, and what the UK can learn from the US. Also this week what do you buy a MAMIL (Middle Aged Man in Lycra) for Christmas?
In this week’s cracker of a show… Firstly, could how you park your car indicate your choice of specialty? Secondly, how a team of scientists managed to solve the mystery of the missing French monarch. And are doctors in ITU more likely to be oliguric, and at greater risk of acute kidney injury than their patients? We read a modern fable, which has an important message for the management of complex clinical collaborations. And finally, how much beauty is there in beauty sleep?...
In the final BMJ podcast of 2010, David Payne asks the Independent’s Jeremy Laurance about the year past, and BMJ authors how they feel going into the one ahead. Also, Adama Traore tells us about the work Save the Children are doing in Sierra Leone. The charity has been instrumental in implementing free healthcare for women and children there, and we hear about their success.
This week we find out the best way to treat a Mesobuthus tamulus (indian red scorpion) sting. We also discuss the current state of healthcare in Iraq; and how Andrew Wakefield’s article linking the MMR vaccine and autism was not bad science, but deliberate fraud.
In this week’s podcast we hear from Tom Jefferson of the Cochrane Collaboration about the problem of publication bias – and a tool that could help researchers dowse for hidden data. Also, Brian Deer discusses his features and explains why it’s been so long from the original publication of Wakefield’s work in the Lancet to the revelations just published in the BMJ. And David Payne talks to us about the new BMJ iPad app.
Andrew Lansley said this week his NHS reforms are needed because the UK’s health outcomes are amongst the poorest in Europe. However John Appleby, chief economist at the King’s Fund, tells us why the comparisons are flawed. We also hear from Turkey’s minister of health, Recep Akdağ, on the strides his country has made in providing healthcare.
In this week’s podcast Theresa Marteau, director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge, wonders if a nudge is enough to change our health behaviours. Also this week, Aziz Sheikh, from the E-medicine Group at The University of Edinburgh, explains how telemedicine is going to be an integral part of future healthcare.
In this week’s podcast Andrew Farmer from the National Institute of Health Research, Health Technology Assessment programme (NIHR HTA), tackles uncertainty. Also, Andrew Clark from the University of Hull tells us that the case for administering oxygen isn’t air tight.
This week we find out about diabetes. Mabel Chew, our Sydney based associate editor, discovers why it’s important not to miss the diagnosis of type I diabetes in children. And we learn about a new therapeutic agent for type II diabetes: glucagon-like peptide-1 analogues.
In this week’s podcast we find out from Susan Brien and Paul Ronksley about the cardioprotective effects of alcohol. Also, Annabel Ferriman tells us about the nominees for the BMJ Group lifetime achievement award.
Between March 2010 and March 2011 the cost of maize and wheat doubled. This is just the latest in a series of price hikes in food staples. In an editorial this week, Joachim Von Braun sets out some of the problems that this price rise is going to cause. David Nabarro, UN special representative of the secretary-general on food security and nutrition, describes why and how we should control the price rise.
In this week’s podcast, Johan Sundstrom explains how blood pressure in adolescents effects mortality in adults. And John Appleby, chief economist of the King’s Fund, talks waiting times.
This month marks the 30th anniversary of the first diagnosed case of AIDS. Bertrand Audoin, from the International AIDS Society, brings us up to date with the latest developments in the fight against the disease. Also this week, Francesco Capuccio from Warwick University explains the importance of sleep as a “health commodity” and the problems with its sacrifice, in our increasingly busy lives.
This week the British government has tabled an amendment to remove maximum pricing from the Health and Social Care Bill. We convened a round table discussion to find out what other elements of the bill need re-examining. Joining us in the studio at BMA house were: John Black - president of the Royal College of Surgeons. Clare Gerada - chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners Michelle Drage - chief executive of the London Wide LMCs Nigel Edwards – acting chief executive of the NHS Conf...
As the world’s attention turns to Fukushima, we hear from Ryuki Kassai, Director of Community and Family Medicine at Fukushima Medical University, about the situation on the ground there. He tells us about the difficulties they currently face, and the uncertainty of the next few days and weeks. Also this week, Paul Mackin of Newcastle University discusses the use and efficacy of atypical antipsychotic
Jamie Love, Knowledge Ecology International, and Hans Hogerzeil, director of essential medicines and pharmaceutical policies at the World Health Organization (WHO), discuss the ongoing EU trade negotiations with India. They set out their concerns that it may lead to an interruption in the supply of new generic drugs to the developing world.
At BMA house, we convened a group of world experts in shared decision making. Inspired by the Salzburg Global Summit meeting we discussed the background, practical challenges, and how to engage patients with their health The participants were: Fiona Godlee , editor in chief, BMJ Angela Coulter , director of global initiatives, Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making Albert Mulley , co-founder, Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, and director, Dartmouth Center for Health Care...
At BMA house, we convened a group of world experts in shared decision making. Inspired by the Salzburg Global Summit meeting we discussed the background, practical challenges, and how to engage patients with their health The participants were: Fiona Godlee , editor in chief, BMJ Angela Coulter , director of global initiatives, Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making Albert Mulley , co-founder, Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, and director, Dartmouth Center for Health Care...
At BMA house, we convened a group of world experts in shared decision making. Inspired by the Salzburg Global Summit meeting we discussed the background, practical challenges, and how to engage patients with their health The participants were: Fiona Godlee , editor in chief, BMJ Angela Coulter , director of global initiatives, Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making Albert Mulley , co-founder, Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, and director, Dartmouth Center for Health Care...
This week’s podcast is a summary of the shared decision making round table - looking at it’s history, practicalities of implementation and how to get patients involved. The full round table can be found on bmj.com/podcasts.
Should we screen for prostate cancer? A study published on bmj.com suggests that it doesn’t improve survival rates, and could lead to over treatment. Gabriel Sandblom, of the Karolinska Institute, tells us about his research. Also, James Ritter, emeritus professor of pharmacology at King’s College London, explains the As in the ABCD of hypertension treatment.
Information abounds in our burgeoning knowledge economy, but how much is useful - let alone essential? Martin Dawes from the University of British Colombia tells us about the hierachy of evidence. Also this week, data journalist and author of Information is Beautiful, David McCandless, talks to us about the power and the pitfalls of graphically representing data.
Regulation of genetic testing kits is difficult, so how do we start to control this growing market? Christine Hauskeller, from the ESRC Centre for Genomics in Society at the University of Exeter, discusses her idea for an international standard which will help consumers make the right choices. Also this week, management of type 2 diabetes could be improved using an “artificial pancreas”. Roman Hovorka, principal research associate at the Institute of Metabolic Science, University of Cambridge, d...
The problems associated with arsenic in drinking water have been known for some time, but new research published in the BMJ helps quantify that risk with respect to cardiovascular disease. Yu Chen, New York University School of Medicine, joins us to discuss her research. Also this week, requests for travel information for pregnant women are on the increase, but the available information is patchy. Lucy Chappell, a lecturer at Kings College London School of Medicine and one of the authors of a ne...
What are the health impacts of cold homes and fuel poverty? Michael Marmot, professor of epidemiology and public health at University College London, talks about findings of the report he co- authored for environmental charity Friends of the Earth. BMJ editor in chief Fiona Godlee and deputy editor Trish Groves talk about the BMJ Group’s evidence to the UK parliamentary science and technology select committee inquiry into peer review.
Richard Peto, renowned epidemiologist at Oxford University, won the BMJ Group lifetime achievement award this week. We hear from him about his work, and some of impact it has had. Also this week, Martin Thornhill, from the University of Sheffield, talks about his research, which shows the effect of a change to NICE guidance on antibiotic prophylaxis for endocarditis.
