The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has provisionally approved sofosbuvir (brand name Sovaldi) for the treatment of hepatitis C, a decision that has surprised some commentators given its high […]
Columnists
Desmond O’Neill: Elective Dreams
With every elective student that joins our unit, I get a vivid flashback of my own electives. No matter how much water has flowed under the bridge since then, something […]
David Kerr: Self obsessing health technology
Has the health tech industry and those who fund it lost the plot? Apparently, the next must have technology is the connected toothbrush. A “data driven oral health startup” company […]
Liz Wager: Research integrity—how can institutions balance discipline and support?
The suicide of Yoshiki Sasai is both tragic and shocking. Sasai was deputy director of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, and a co-author of reports in Nature on the […]
Pritpal S Tamber: Understanding what communities really value
There is nothing more convincing than someone citing research, and yet we often don’t know if what’s being cited is any good. Research can be bad if it’s poorly conducted […]
Mary E Black: Data is really beautiful
My whine of the week, if not the decade . . . Given that data, and in particular big data, is inevitable, exciting, inspiring, unlocks potential, has fabulous hidden patterns, […]
Richard Smith: I hate going to the doctor
I hate going to the doctor. Don’t you? My statement is unsurprising as I’m a man and a doctor (of sorts), two groups who are known to dislike going to […]
William Cayley: Resilience, obstreperousness, and grit
Some people keep going, and going, and going . . . and some don’t. What makes the difference? I’m not sure we know, but I think it has something to […]
Richard Smith: “All problems are ultimately linguistic problems”
“All problems are ultimately linguistic problems,” says Muir Gray, once NHS chief knowledge officer, misquoting the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. But I don’t think that he misquoted him badly, and that […]
Neal Maskrey: Feeling the force of the QOF
It’s the season for graduation ceremonies. Proud parents and partners, relieved graduates, and a lump in everyone’s throat as that enormous rite of passage is eased by impressive ceremony, thoughtful […]