A new approach to oral health can lead to healthier societies
More than 3.5 billion people globally suffer from the main oral diseases. These conditions combined…
Category: BMJ
Ethnic minorities receive markedly worse healthcare in every US state, finds Commonwealth Fund
Black, Hispanic, and Native Americans receive less effective and timely healthcare than white Americans in…
NHS England looks to cut back on doctors’ statutory and mandatory training
NHS England is exploring ways it can reduce the amount of statutory and mandatory training…
US pregnant workers get new legal protections, but not paid time off
Pregnant women in the US will get specific protections while working, including rules about breaks,…
African countries recall batch of Johnson and Johnson cough syrup because of toxicity concerns
Drug regulators in several African countries have recalled a batch of Johnson & Johnson children’s…
Teesside trust is fined {pound}200 000 over failures in care of two patients who died by suicide
An NHS mental health trust has been fined £200 000 for failing to provide safe…
Why I . . . practise Brazilian jiujitsu
“I’m talking with a bit of a lisp because I got hit in the face…
When will Canada have national pharmacare?
Canada’s universal healthcare system, often referred to as Medicare, provides universal, public insurance for medically…
US Supreme Court allows Idaho to ban gender affirming care for minors—for now
The US Supreme Court has allowed the state of Idaho to temporarily put into effect…
Healthcare professionals deserve support services tailored to their specific needs
“If you build it, they will come” is not only a quote from the 1989…
NHS Practitioner Health: “We’ve always been on the precipice of closure”
What is NHS Practitioner Health, and who funds it?NHS Practitioner Health is a specialist mental…
Sixty seconds on . . . smoking trends
Good news, I presume?Not quite. While overall smoking rates declined between 2013 and 2023, there…
Sunak is accused of “harmful” rhetoric amid plans to remove sick note responsibility from GPs
The UK prime minister has announced a consultation on reforms to the disability benefit system,…
Doctors protest outside GMC offices to demand climate action
UK doctors staged a protest outside the General Medical Council offices in London on 18…
UK drug shortages have been exacerbated by Brexit, say analysts
Ministers must do more to anticipate shortages of medicines in the UK, which have become…
Contaminated blood victims are still being let down by government, say campaigners
Campaigners representing victims of the UK infected blood scandal say that government plans for a…
Community mental health services need support to improve patient satisfaction, says NHS leader
Low satisfaction with community mental health services is symptomatic of them being “stretched to the…
Doctors should not be simply the ghost in the machine
“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”Dr SeussSaying the word “finals” to…
Medical device firms paid UK health organisations {euro}37m in three years, study finds
Medical device companies made over €37m (£32m; $39m) of education related payments to UK health…
Nestle accused of double standards over added sugar in baby products sold in poorer countries
Baby food manufacturer Nestlé has been accused of “unjustifiable” double standards after an investigation found…
Smacking: Paediatricians call for ban in England and Northern Ireland
The Royal College of Paediatricians and Child Health (RCPCH) has called for the removal of…
Partha Kar: We need to level up all staff, not level down doctors
After years of underfunding, being undervalued, and issues around pay and working conditions, something finally…
Private GP provider is investigated for potential contract breaches
A private healthcare provider that runs nearly 60 NHS GP practices in England is being…
Duration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and outcomes for adults with in-hospital cardiac arrest: retrospective cohort study
In the visual abstract of this research paper by Okubo and colleagues (BMJ 2024;384:e076019, doi:10.1136/bmj-2024-076019),…
Psychiatrist who claimed {pound}1000s for shifts he didn’t work is struck off
A psychiatrist who forged a colleague’s signature on his timesheets and claimed tens of thousands…
Mental health support for doctors—a vital yet fragile lifeline
Even as a doctor myself, it’s easy to take other doctors for granted. As a…
Health under the spotlight in India’s 2024 election
When Parth Sharma, a community medicine doctor at the Maulana Azad Medical College in New…
A large oronasal defect
A man in his late 50s with a history of regular cocaine use reported dysphagia,…
A girl with circular erythema on the forearm
An 11 year old girl was referred to the dermatology clinic with circular urticarial lesions…
Can a worker cooperative model of social care improve the patient experience and reduce pressure on GPs?
For years, Kate Smyth found that getting help through private social care providers for basic…
Treating psychosis . . . and other stories
History of antipsychoticsThe calming properties of chlorpromazine, the first major tranquilliser, were noticed almost by…
AI is unlikely to revolutionise GP access
Mathew has great hopes for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in GP triage.1 The…
Urgent action and legislation are needed to tackle overseas bariatric and cosmetic tourism
We were pleased to read the article highlighting the ongoing problem of complications from overseas…
Breaking free from the stigma of diabetes
Have you ever felt the cold prickle of eyes staring at you as they silently…
Almost a quarter more working adults will have major illness by 2040, experts predict
Rising levels of ill health will take a toll on people’s lives and the economy…
Paediatricians call for new cabinet level position of children’s minister
The next government should establish a senior cabinet level position of children’s minister to ensure…
Child health: UK must regain “lost ground,” Kingdon urges next government
“I am a very optimistic, glass half full person. But I think we’re in a…
GP services in Lothian risk collapse amid “ruinous” rise in premises charges
Family doctors in Scotland’s second largest health board are drawing up plans to cut their…
Closing the gender health gap: a {pound}39bn boost to the economy, as well as lives
Closing the gender health gap by 2040 could add almost £39bn to the UK economy…
Dengue: Argentinians turn to homemade repellent amid surge in cases
Argentinians are making homemade mosquito repellent and scouring pharmacies for off-the-shelf products as the worst…
Helen Salisbury: With the NHS in crisis, why is Labour looking to private hospitals as the solution?
This week the shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, promised to bring in the private sector…
John Launer: Learning from appraisals
I’ve been a GP appraiser for around 20 years, more or less since appraisals were…
Health literacy matters
“Sunshine, rest, exercise, diet, friends, and self-confidence” are the “six best doctors in the world,”…
Concerns over physician associates are missing the wood for the trees
Mafi, Oliver, and Salisbury identify myriad problems with the expanding workforce of physician associates (PAs).123“Form…
Public awareness campaign on risks of accessing weight loss surgery overseas is crucial
Patients need clearer warnings about the risks of having surgery abroad.1 Health tourism in weight…
New death certification process for England and Wales will start in September
NHS trusts and GPs will be required by law to share records of all patients…
TRIPOD+AI statement: updated guidance for reporting clinical prediction models that use regression or machine learning methods
Prediction models are used across different healthcare settings. They are used to estimate an outcome…
Why the fuss about physician associates?
Features of the debate around physician associates (PAs) have crystallised a range of underlying problems…
Mortality in working age people is still significantly higher than pre-pandemic, data show
Mortality among working age people in England and Wales remains higher than before the covid-19…
NHS England does U turn on staff mental health service after outcry by doctors
NHS England has reversed its decision to halt new sign-ups to the NHS Practitioner Health…