The BMJ
The BMJ aims to lead the debate on health, and to engage doctors, researchers and health professionals to improve outcomes for patients
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US doctors worry about rise in unsafe abortions
Many women already lack access to legal, safe abortion services, and a flurry of new state laws will do nothing to improve women’s health, doctors tell Kim Painter On May 8, the morning after the…
Patient commentary: Stop hyping artificial intelligence—patients will always need human doctors
If regulated and well implemented, machines that learn have the potential to bring huge benefit to patients, but who wants to receive a terminal diagnosis from a robot? ask Michael Mittelman, Sarah…
Global health disruptors: Fourth industrial revolution
We must ensure a digital future that is safe and inclusive for all, say Flavia Bustreo, Siddhartha Jha, and Stefan Germann Digital concepts and solutions that were considered science fiction…
Clinical applications of machine learning algorithms: beyond the black box
To maximise the clinical benefits of machine learning algorithms, we need to rethink our approach to explanation, argue David Watson and colleagues ### Key messages Machine learning algorithms are an…
Could artificial intelligence make doctors obsolete?
Machines that can learn and correct themselves already perform better than doctors at some tasks, says Jörg Goldhahn , but Vanessa Rampton and Giatgen A Spinas maintain that machines will never be able to replicate the inter-relational quality of the therapeutic nature of the
Capita error led to 130 000 patient records being wrongfully archived
The outsourcing company Capita wrongly archived 130 000 NHS patient records rather than transferring them to GP surgeries, it has emerged. NHS England has written to general practices to inform them…
Ask your patient: what is most important to you, and why?
Clinicians should be taught some mediation techniques to apply in meetings with patients I have just spent a week training to be a mediator, along with 16 other barristers. Mediation is a confidential…
Helen Salisbury: Alcohol excess—time for new measures?
In a recent issue of The BMJ I was struck by two articles on the same theme12: when industries make money from selling products that cause harm, can we expect them to contribute meaningfully to…
Malaria control stalls in high incidence areas
We have a fight on our hands to regain lost momentum In 2015 the World Health Organization’s annual World Malaria Report struck an optimistic note, reporting remarkable progress against malaria on all…
Rheumatoid arthritis: glucocorticoids are associated with nearly double infection risk post-surgery
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are taking a glucocorticoid, in dosages above 10 mg per day, have almost double the risk of developing an infection after joint replacement surgery compared…
Clinical guidelines on antidepressant withdrawal urgently need updating
In February 2018 the international debate on antidepressant withdrawal was reignited.1234 In response to a letter published in the Times by Davies et al on the benefits and harms of antidepressants,1…
Some delays in lung cancer diagnosis are avoidable
Support to implement simple improvements could mean faster lung cancer diagnosis At the UK Lung Cancer Coalition’s annual meeting last year, patients and clinicians gathered to explore how to achieve…
Tackling economic, commercial and market forces
Intended for healthcare professionals Editorials Solutions for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases BMJ 2019; 365 doi:
Ethnic minority staff and patients: a health service failure
A call for papers for a special theme issue of The BMJ This autumn The BMJ will publish a special issue to reflect the working lives of doctors from ethnic minority backgrounds and the healthcare…
Martina Kane: The place you grow up in shapes your health
The long term health of a city and the opportunities available to its young people are inextricably linked The place where we grow up shapes us in all manner of [...]More...
Scrap 10 minute consultations, RCGP urges
The standard 10 minute GP consultation should be scrapped by 2030 as part of a major shake-up in the delivery of primary care, the Royal College of General Practitioners has advised. Extending GP…
Ruth Hunter: Tackling NCDs in humanitarian settings is a growing challenge
Multisectoral networks have a vital role in meeting the needs of vulnerable people, says Ruth Hunter Human suffering in humanitarian settings is not just a direct result of a conflict [...]More...
Samuel Pollen: Of all the possible outcomes of an eating disorder—recovery is…
I developed anorexia when I was 12. It was, as eating disorders tend to be, devastating—both in its immediate physical effects, and the wider impact on my life, family, and [...]More...
Scottish government is urged to double medical school places for rural and…
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh has called on the Scottish government to double the number of medical school places for rural and poorer students through the Widening Access to Medicine…
Using economic evidence to support policy decisions to fund interventions for non-communicable…
Economic analysis of interventions to reduce non-communicable diseases can encourage countries to increase investment, say Melanie Bertram and colleagues The global burden of non-communicable diseases…
Bullying in NHS Highland: five minutes with . . . Iain Kennedy
The Inverness GP talks to Abi Rimmer about blowing the whistle about bullying in NHS Highland “I was a board member at NHS Highland between 2011 and 2014 and during that time I saw what I thought were…
Trends in global health financing
Low income countries are still unable to fund a basic package of health services Three recent reports give us a good picture of global health spending. In December 2018, the World Health Organization…
Asking the right question: implementation research to accelerate national non-communicable disease responses
Non-communicable disease programmes can be strengthened by systematically identifying implementation challenges and translating them into questions that can be answered through appropriate research,…
Partha Kar: Our responsibility to the next generation
A fundamental problem with the NHS and its workforce issues sometimes tends to be us—the workforce itself. We can all make small changes that add up to making a big difference. Yet we shy away from…