In the United States, even the grim reaper is not immune from political interference. Around two weeks ago, an episode of mass murder happened a few miles from where I live. […]
Columnists
Neal Maskrey: Seeing the world through a patient’s eyes
Captain Hawkeye Pierce of the 4077th MASH unit is one of the great fictional doctors. Battered by the US army, and brutalised by death and disfigurement in a war far […]
Richard Smith: Where is the value in medical care?
We have an old dog we love, and my wife and I have been debating whether to take him to the vet. Will it be worth it, asks my wife. The […]
Muir Gray: Population health—what’s in a name
Suddenly the word population is everywhere. The Oxford University Department of Public Health is now the Department of Population Health Sciences, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has added population health […]
Desmond O’Neill: Some illuminations on caring for older people
Gothenburg is a handsome city with imposing stone and brick buildings, simultaneously sober and ornamented, set among green hills falling to not one but two archipelagos. It was particularly striking […]
Richard Smith: Rebranding and telling stories about NCD
I was delighted to be asked to organise this series of events on non-communicable diseases, but I had a problem—I had no idea what NCDs are or were. So Kate […]
Jim Murray: Policy making behind closed doors
Campaigning for transparency on clinical trial results at EU level is getting to be like playing snakes and ladders, and I’ve just spotted three snakes. I’ve been trying to “deconstruct” […]
Julian Sheather: Public health and social power
It’s hard not to brood from time to time on some of the intractable public health problems that entangle us. Take obesity. Swimming with my boys over the weekend, I […]
Jim Murray: Volte-face by the European Medicines Agency?
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recently published to a targeted audience final consultation draft papers on its new “proactive” transparency policy on clinical trial results. As reported, information published under […]
Jim Murray: Who cares about the European Parliament?
Many people across Europe regard the European Parliament as irrelevant, or worse. Personally I find this sad but they are entitled to their view. I wrote a blog here a […]