Turning down the spice: tackling the problems of synthetic cannabinoids
Synthetic cannabinoids, colloquially known as “spice,” are a class of structurally diverse novel psychoactive substances…
Category: British Medical Journal
Primary and social care funding must increase if the NHS is to recover
The NHS needs better funding. Almost every analysis of the current crisis indicates that the…
Ask the expert: common problems in new babies in primary care
What you need to knowConstipation in newborns can be defined as distress on passage of…
Appendicectomy remains treatment of choice for patients with acute appendicitis
Acute appendicitis is a common condition that almost all doctors will encounter at some point…
The financial crisis threatening Australian general practice
“I was frantic. I was so busy that I felt unsafe.” Imaan Joshi was a…
STAT+: An innovative eye stem cell transplant could help restore vision in people with chemical injuries
The first time Phillip Durst saw the big A on the chart, he could hardly…
Diets of under 5s in the UK: any new national food strategy must consider socioeconomic factors
Mahase highlights the need for a better national food strategy for the UK.1 A recent…
GP is suspended for failing to properly treat patient through telephone consultations
A GP who avoided face-to-face appointments during the covid pandemic has been suspended from the…
The G20 must act now for the health and wellbeing of women, children, and adolescents around the world
Investing in women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health is critical to sustainable economic growth globally. Every…
Ivan Barry Pless
It is with sorrow that we note the death of Ivan Barry Pless. Barry was…
Jim Loughran: GP and founder member of the Irish family planning movement
bmj;382/aug18_4/p1912/FAF1faJames Loughran (“Jim”) was born in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland, to Rose (née McKenna) and…
The NHS workforce plan needs a wellbeing focus
The NHS recently published its workforce plan,1 and although it is welcome, it lacks a…
Maternity care at St George’s Hospital in London is unsafe and chaotic, says regulator
A London teaching hospital has had its maternity services rated inadequate after the Care Quality…
Electronic health records: don’t underestimate the importance of implementation and training
The introduction of electronic health records (EHRs) has been one of the most significant changes…
NHS cancer targets are slimmed down with the aim of speeding up diagnoses
The current 10 cancer targets in the NHS in England are to be slimmed down…
Where now in the danse macabre of covid-19 and misinformation?
Rumours of covid-19’s death have been greatly exaggerated. A new wave of infections reminds us…
How bibliometrics and school rankings reward unreliable science
How much is a citation worth? $3? $6? $100 000?Any of those answers is correct,…
Ann Robinson’s research reviews—17 August 2023
Careful what you wish forDo we underestimate the harm done by overdiagnosis as a result…
Venous eczema and chronic venous disease
What you need to knowComprehensive assessment of venous eczema includes asking about triggers, time course…
How do UK broadcast media deal with covid misinformation?
Covid-19 may no longer lead the UK media’s news agenda, but concern about covid misinformation…
Purple plaques on the shin
While being investigated for tonsillar malignancy, this woman in her 60s was found to have…
Antibiotics for UTI in children . . . and other stories
Urinary tract infections in childrenHow long a course of antibiotics is needed for children with…
Lung cancer screening will be hampered by poor recording of searchable smoking terminology in GP computer systems
General practice smoking records will be used to target lung cancer screening in people over…
Hans Steiner: paediatrician who escaped the Holocaust
bmj;382/aug16_10/p1889/FAF1faHans Steiner was born in Vienna to a well established Jewish family. His life and…
Consumer fertility tests: five minutes with . . . Brooke Nickel
“Feminist narratives have been increasingly co-opted or hijacked by commercial entities. Industry, consumer, and advocacy…
Pandemic self-testing has led to boom in unregulated “wellness” tests, researchers warn
The covid pandemic “normalised” self-testing for much of the public and accelerated the creation of…
How do we best use Paxlovid and other covid antivirals?
Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir-ritonavir) is one of many oral antivirals that have been tested against SARS-CoV-2. Several…
Co-creating healthcare
In May 2023 the WHO launched a framework to engage people with non-communicable diseases in…
Making the invisible visible: what can we do about biased AI in medical devices?
Debate has intensified recently about the dangers of unbridled artificial intelligence (AI) to society.1 Nowhere…
Young people in Montana win lawsuit for clean environment
Sixteen young people have won a lawsuit against the US state of Montana which said…
Banning toxic pesticides is effective at preventing suicides in South Asia
Sarkar’s article about deaths from pesticide self-poisoning in South Asia conflicts with current evidence, which…
John Launer: Screen encounters and false impressions
I recently had an unnerving experience. I met someone I’d seen several times before, and…
Don’t shift the burden on to me
As I sat down at my appointment I was in for a surprise. The doctor…
Two years on from Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the Hazaras community is a neglected people at risk of genocide
On the second anniversary of Kabul’s fall to the Taliban, Afghanistan finds itself entangled in…
Covid is on the rise again—so what next?
There are very few ways now to track the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in England since…
Major conditions strategy needs more support to be achievable, say health leaders
Plans to have a major conditions strategy for England that covers multiple serious conditions with…
Weight loss drugs: Digital services will improve access, says NICE
Weight management services in England will be able to use four new digital platforms to…
Matt Morgan: How to run a bath without losing water
After I turned 40, my quick showers twice a day morphed into a long evening…
Helen Salisbury: Everyone benefits from continuity of care
Triage, signposting, and care navigation are buzz words that crop up frequently in discussions about…
How can we make life better for doctors in postgraduate training?
Create a sense of connectionAnna Melvin, postdoctoral research fellow for Care Under Pressure 3, University…
Is your hospital, health system, or organisation serious about tackling the climate crisis? A checklist
Talk is easy, action is hard. Strategies are easy to devise, but it’s the implementation…
BMA chair predicts “bleak” future for Scotland’s GPs without more investment
GPs in Scotland have issued an urgent plea for help, and most say that their…
Nearly six million women in the US live in maternity care deserts
More than 5.6 million women in the US live where there is no or limited…
US paediatric leaders back gender affirming approach while also ordering evidence review
The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) reaffirmed its policy supporting the gender affirming model of…
How legionnaires’ disease evacuated an asylum seekers’ boat
A political storm has broken out in the UK after asylum seekers held in temporary…
Floating prisons and ex-military bases: large asylum accommodation sites harm health
Last week, the Bibby Stockholm, the UK government’s floating prison barge intended to house people…
The maȷor conditions strategy—ȷust another NHS plan?
The major conditions strategy will be one of this government’s last health strategies before next…
Global disease reporting service ProMED faces uncertain future as funding runs out
ProMED, the free disease reporting service that in 2019 brought the world its first notification…
US Supreme Court pauses $6bn Sackler family opioid settlement for review
The Supreme Court of the United States has placed a hold on a legal settlement…
Why don’t east Asia’s doctors go on strike?
Taiwan has over 10 different medical professional unions and hospital labour unions, with a total…