Covid-19: a digital epidemic
The covid-19 epidemic is not only viral—it is also digital.1Information spread through social and traditional…
Category: BMJ
Colorectal cancer: summary of NICE guidance
What you need to knowLong term use of aspirin may prevent colorectal cancer in people…
Doctors didn’t breach duty of care by not telling woman her father had Huntington’s disease
A woman who sued three NHS trusts for negligence for not telling her while she…
Clinical negligence costs: taking action to safeguard NHS sustainability
Key messagesSpending on clinical negligence is escalating, constituting a major threat to the sustainability of…
Current and future treatments for tuberculosis
AbstractGuidelines on the treatment of tuberculosis (TB) have essentially remained the same for the past…
John Wyn Owen: former director of the NHS in Wales, who introduced the concept of “health gain”
bmj;368/feb28_10/m794/FAF1faJohn Wyn Owen approached his death in the same way as his life as director…
Iain Smith Macdonald
bmj;368/feb28_9/m796/FAF1faIain Smith Macdonald was born in Greenock. After graduating, he did national service in North…
Nicholas Godlee
bmj;368/feb28_8/m658/FAF1faNicholas Godlee came from a medical lineage: his great uncle, Sir Rickman Godlee, the first…
Emerging tensions will affect how the NHS uses its new money
The fallout from former health secretary Andrew Lansley’s 2012 reorganisation of the NHS in England…
Covid-19: school closures and bans on mass gatherings will need to be considered, says England’s CMO
School closures and bans on mass gatherings will need to be considered if there is…
Divestment for health: consider the arms industry
We welcome The BMJ’s thoughtful editorial linking health to the debate on divestment.1 The increasing…
Gender dysphoria and transgender health issues are now included in the RCGP curriculum
We welcome Howard’s article on how difficult it is for general practitioners to get the…
Hancock vows to stamp out “absurd” rationing of some NHS services
The health secretary Matt Hancock has vowed to stamp out what he described as the…
Life as a neurosurgeon
Neurosurgeons assess, diagnose, and undertake surgery to treat disorders of the central nervous system, including…
Research on peer review and biomedical publication
At The BMJ we try to practise what we preach—just as in healthcare, our decisions…
Joseph Charles Stoddart
bmj;368/feb27_10/m701/FAF1faJoseph Stoddart (“Joe”), who has died aged 87, was in the 1960s one of the…
Euan Wallace
bmj;368/feb27_9/m704/FAF1faEuan David Wallace was the son of the eminent dermatologist Hugh Wallace and Nora Wallace…
Mohammad Fahim Siddiqui
bmj;368/feb27_8/m699/FAF1faOn 22 December 2019, Mohammad Fahim Siddiqui finally laid down his scalpel. He was born…
Amplifying the impact of clinical pharmacology and therapeutics
As clinical pharmacologists representing a truly generalist specialty, spanning all ages and organs, we welcome…
Covid-19: Trump says risk to Americans is “very low”
President Donald Trump described the US response to the covid-19 outbreak as “a tremendous success”…
Post-SSRI sexual dysfunction
Sexual difficulties after treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were first reported to regulators…
Health inequalities: death by political means
Austerity does not result in a fair society or healthier lives. The evidence is clear…
SPIRIT extension and elaboration for n-of-1 trials: SPENT 2019 checklist
N-of-1 trialsWell conducted, randomised clinical trials create the evidence base that informs modern medical practice,…
Promoting professionalism: five minutes with . . . Sheona MacLeod
“What is professionalism, and how do you foster it? I suspect that everyone has a…
Spade phalanx sign of acromegaly
This is a radiograph (fig 1) of the spade phalanx sign of acromegaly. The patient…
Revitalising audit and feedback to improve patient care
Key messagesClinical audit and feedback entail reviewing clinical performance against explicit standards and delivering feedback…
Managing multimorbidity: listening to patients and integrated care
We welcome the call from Whitty and colleagues for a coordinated, cross sectoral response to…
Managing multimorbidity needs time and thought
Medical admissions are caused by a domino effect of environmental, social, mental, and physical factors,…
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Abortion: US appeal court upholds Trump’s “gag rule” that stops doctors from facilitating provision
A US federal appeal court has upheld a Trump administration rule that forbids doctors who…
Covid-19: Italy confirms 11 deaths as cases spread from north
Confirmed cases of covid-19 in Italy leapt by 45% to reach 322 on 25 February,…
Patient commentary: Incarceration is dehumanising, but good healthcare can restore dignity
I arrived in prison a cocaine addict with a £2000 (€2390; $2580) a week habit….
Des Spence: Why #healthbeliefs should be top of all our communications
It was 1986—before the preferred pronoun, when # was an obscure wannabe on life’s keyboard,…
The prison service is still failing inmates’ healthcare needs
In September 2019 a newborn baby died after an inmate at HMP Bronzefield, Britain’s largest…
How can I explain my high blood pressure to you?
For most people, having their blood pressure checked is a relatively straightforward process, but for…
Twenty miles per hour speed zones reduce the danger to pedestrians and cyclists
The studyCleland LC, McComb L, Kee F, et al. Effects of 20 mph interventions on…
David Oliver: “Considerably transformed”—changing the narrative on admitting older patients
I knelt by the patient’s bed. Admitted four days earlier when acutely unwell, confused, and…
Rebuilding lives and faces ruined by noma
bmj;368/feb26_1/m742/FAF1faClaire Jeantet/Fabrice CatériniAdamu, 14, is pictured during his initial screening session at Sokoto Noma Hospital…
Release of immigration detainees: RECONNECTed yet not protected from harm of detention
Nearly two thirds of those held in immigration removal centres (IRCs) are released into the…
Acknowledge, in the curriculum, those who suffered for the advancement of medical science
As a genitourinary physician I was taught about the Tuskegee syphilis experiment during my training,…
Dementia: US recommends against screening over 65s because of insufficient evidence
The US Preventive Services Task Force has recommended against screening people aged over 65 for…
Helen Salisbury: Prestidigitation
This week Matt Hancock, secretary of state for health and social care, welcomed the introduction…
My hopes for a thriving primary care have been dashed
I found it heartening to read the consensus among leaders in our profession in Whitty…
Clare Gerada: We need to stop being frightened of the bogeyman
For years I’ve been caring for doctors with mental illness. This has involved numerous interactions…
Organ donation: England will have “opt-out” system from May 2020
England will move to an “opt-out” system of deemed consent for organ donation from May…
Covid-19: surge in cases in Italy and South Korea makes pandemic look more likely
A surge in cases of covid-19 in northern Italy on 24 February heightened fears that…
Algorithm based smartphone apps to assess risk of skin cancer in adults: systematic review of diagnostic accuracy studies
In this paper by Freeman and colleagues (BMJ 2020;368:m127, doi:10.1136/bmj.m127, published 10 February 2020), the…
Is streaming patients in emergency departments to primary care services effective and safe?
What you need to knowCo-located primary care services have been introduced in emergency departments in…
Marmot 10 years on: austerity has damaged nation’s health, say experts
The UK prime minister must lead a national strategy for reducing health inequalities that have…
Ian Calder: forensic pathologist who investigated unexplained deaths
bmj;368/feb24_17/m624/FAF1faCredit: James CalderIan Calder investigated some of the most headline grabbing, mysterious, and unexplained deaths…
GP is struck off after he showed no insight into reasons for his suspension
A GP who was suspended from the UK medical register in 2018 over his treatment…