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System change, the theme of the World Cancer Congress in Shenzhen, China, Aug 18–21, was a central message in the opening address by the Chinese Minister of Health, Chen Zhu, as he described current health-care system reforms in China. At the Congress many international health policy makers and physicians led discussions on frameworks and actions for system change, but there was little participation from local Chinese doctors.
The Lancet (General medicine) - Tue, 31 August 2010
http://www.thelancet.com
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The attributes of a good doctor vary according to the population surveyed. Patients value communication and care, colleagues seek competence and camaraderie, medical students prize cheerfulness. By contrast, admission panels focus on chemistry grades, as if knowledge of ionic bonds is somehow a proxy for the complex human and organisational bonds between doctors, their patients, and colleagues. As a result, most people seeking a career in medicine must first master chemistry; those who cannot do so are unlikely to become doctors. This ritual was played out on Aug 19, when university applicants in the UK, including those aspiring to medicine, received examination results and wondered breathlessly if their chemistry (or other) grades would be satisfactory. In today's The Art of Medicine, Donald Barr questions whether medical schools' scientific bias actually selects the best doctors.
The Lancet (General medicine) - Tue, 31 August 2010
http://www.thelancet.com
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When man's best friend wants to hop into bed at night, there are conflicting opinions about whether it should be allowed for those already having sleep troubles. According to an expert at Baylor College of Medicine , deciding whether to let a pet sleep in bed with you depends on you and the pet.
Baylor College of Medicine (General medicine) - Thu, 22 July 2010
http://www.bcm.edu
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An intoxicated co-worker in many workplaces might be more of a nuisance than a threat. But an impaired or incompetent physician can present a real risk to patients . The American Medical Association (AMA) asserts that all doctors have an "ethical obligation to report" colleagues who are suspected of being unable to safely fulfill their duties, whether because of mental health issues, alcohol or drug abuse or a lack of necessary technical skills
Scientific American (General medicine) - Wed, 14 July 2010
http://www.sciam.com/
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Promoting evidence-based medicine by encouraging adherence to evidence-based guidelines can substantially improve clinical care.
Archives of Internal Medicine (General medicine) - Wed, 30 June 2010
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/
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Clinical studies show that caffeine can help the body´s immunological defences against tumours. This and other new findings on the health benefits of caffeine will be presented by leading international researchers at a Nobel mini-symposium to be hosted by Karolinska Institutet. The symposium will also cover new findings on caffeine intake during pregnancy and the mechanisms behind its negative impact on sleep.
Karolinska Institutet (General medicine) - Wed, 30 June 2010
http://ki.se/ki/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=130&l=en
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According to a fact sheet by WHO (May, 2010) about the rational use of medicines, more than 50% of all medicines are not correctly prescribed, dispensed, and sold; and more than 50% of patients take their drugs incorrectly. The situation is worse in developing countries, with less than 40% of patients in the public sector and less than 30% in the private sector being treated according to clinical guidelines. Several factors contribute to the incorrect use of medicines—eg, prescribers might obtain information about treatments from pharmaceutical companies rather than referring to evidence-based clinical guidelines; incomplete diagnosis of a patient's disease could result in inadequate provision of treatment; and patients might seek affordable versions of expensive drugs on the internet that are not quality assured.
The Lancet (General medicine) - Wed, 16 June 2010
http://www.thelancet.com
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Scientific studies looking at potential medical treatments often sound exciting -- that is, until you read further and realize they're in rodents.
CNN.com (General medicine) - Tue, 8 June 2010
http://www.cnn.com
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Last week, NICE’s Citizens Council - a group which brings the views of the public to NICE’s decision-making - spent two days debating the ins and outs of using incentives as an effective way of encouraging people to make positive lifestyle changes, such as giving up smoking or losing weight.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (General medicine) - Tue, 8 June 2010
http://www.nice.org.uk
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Removing the barriers that are currently "stifling" medical research in the United Kingdom will not require new rules on clinical trials to be written but for existing ones to be reinterpreted, the body charged with reviewing the regulation and governance of medical research has said.
British Medical Journal (General medicine) - Mon, 24 May 2010
http://www.bmjjournals.com