Why Cochrane is Wrong About Hypertension. Very Wrong.
By SWAPNIL HIREMATH, MD
Archie Cochrane and the Cochrane Collaboration
Archie Cochrane was born in Scotland, educated in London (King’s College, University College and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and worked in Cardiff, Wales. His work as a doctor during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, especially in a prisoner of war camp in Salonica, is credited with his push towards generating higher quality evidence. In his description of the clinical trial he conducted, he mentions James Lind as his hero. Ironically, that clinical trial – with weak randomization, open allocation, non-blinding of inv...
Source: The Health Care Blog - August 29, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: at RogueRad Tags: EBM Cochrane patient population risks Source Type: blogs
Why Cochrane is Wrong About Hypertension. Very Wrong.
By SWAPNIL HIREMATH MD
Archie Cochrane and the Cochrane Collaboration
Archie Cochrane was born in Scotland, educated in London (King’s College, University College and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and worked in Cardiff, Wales. His work as a doctor during the Spanish Civil War and World War II, especially in a prisoner of war camp in Salonica, is credited with his push towards generating higher quality evidence. In his description of the clinical trial he conducted, he mentions James Lind as his hero. Ironically, that clinical trial – with weak randomization, open allocation, non-blinding of inve...
Source: The Health Care Blog - August 28, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: at RogueRad Tags: EBM Source Type: blogs
Fractional Reserve Banking and " Austrian " Business Cycles, Part III
Inthe first of this series of posts, I explained that the mere presence of fractional-reserve banks itself has little bearing on an economy ’s rate of money growth, which mainly depends on the growth rate of its stock of basic (commodity or fiat) money. The one exception to this rule, I said, consists of episodes in which growth in an economy’s money stock, defined broadly to include the public’s holdings of readily-redeemable ban k IOUs as well as its holdings of basic money, is due in whole or in part to a decline in bank reserve ratiosIn asecond post, I pointed out that, while falling bank reserve ratios might in ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - August 28, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: George Selgin Source Type: blogs
The United Kingdom is Suffering from a Radiologist Shortage
Regions throughout the UK are grappling with low staff numbers in their radiology departments. According to the Royal College of Radiologists in Scotland, there has been a 10 percent increase in radiology demands over the last five years. The RCR was promised 10 additional trainees per year, and they need 25 more a year in order to keep up with patient needs.Grant Baxter, MD, the chair of the RCR in Scotland, told the BBC, " If we do not address this issue now, there simply won ' t be a service in the next three, four, five years. ” The radiologist shortage in Scotland isn’t news to anyone. Last year, the need for ra...
Source: radRounds - August 24, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Guidance for the development, production and review of information to support UK population screening programmes
Public Health England -This guidance provides the four UK countries with best practice in terms of developing public information resources such as leaflets to support the national screening programmes. It also provides a definition of ‘personal informed choice’. Information about national screening programmes is available for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.GuidancePublic Health England - publications (Source: Health Management Specialist Library)
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - August 10, 2018 Category: UK Health Authors: The King ' s Fund Information & Knowledge Service Tags: Local authorities, public health and health inequalities Source Type: blogs
New test results and other bits of news
As you may recall, my April “andrographolide” results were disappointing, although some MM markers did improve. But my IgG jumped up quite a bit.
But now, incredibly, in just three months, and in spite of ALL the stress I’ve been under in the past weeks, my new, August test results are, well, excellent!!! My IgG has gone down to less than it was in 2012. Obviously, it’s still high, but it’s back to where I prefer it to be.
So I’m pleased. VERY pleased. Incidentally, all I took in this period was curcumin (the usual 8 grams a day) and Reishi, which has done well for me for the second t...
Source: Margaret's Corner - August 8, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Margaret Tags: Blogroll curcumin bioavailability Source Type: blogs
Supertanker partnerships
Is bigger really any better when it comes to primary care? Related items fromOnMedica Conditions in the NHS have worsened, new report shows Scotland to introduce legal requirement on NHS staffing Practices need to seize the opportunity of consolidating IT systems GPs warn government: fund service properly or it will collapse NHS funding falls short of 4% needed for improvements (Source: OnMedica Blogs)
Source: OnMedica Blogs - August 7, 2018 Category: General Medicine Source Type: blogs
Hancock ’s half hour
An (anxious) welcome letter to the new Health and Social Care Secretary Related items fromOnMedica Joined-up approach needed to recruit overseas doctors Scotland to introduce legal requirement on NHS staffing Time to hang up the phone – appointments need to be digitised Study shows why GPs quit patient care Monitor launches ‘exploration’ of GP services (Source: OnMedica Blogs)
Source: OnMedica Blogs - July 31, 2018 Category: General Medicine Source Type: blogs
Some Things a Central Bank's Banker Doesn't Know about Monetary History
In February 2018 Agustin Carstens, the General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, gave a speech at Goethe University in Frankfurt entitled “Money in the digital age: what role for central banks?” The speech quickly became notorious in the cryptocurrency community for its brusque dismissal of Bitcoin and other cryptoassets. Among other things, Carstens there called Bitcoin “a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster.” A combination? One may judge the price of Bitcoin a bubble, but there is no other sense in which Bitcoin is a “Ponzi scheme.” The BIS being the...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 26, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Lawrence H. White Source Type: blogs
Tracing The Future of Forensic Medicine
Realistic genetic photo fits, portable diagnostic labs and microbiomes are all new elements in the tool-kit of medical professionals in forensic medicine to catch criminals and solve complex cases. Reality is not at all CSI, but not because of the lack of high-tech, but due to the distortions of television. Let’s see how the future of forensic medicine might look in actuality.
CSI and its effect
Ultraviolet cameras showing bruises healed a while ago. Luminol displaying traces of blood on leather jackets. UV lights like lightsabers scouring over empty rooms to find saliva, semen or any fluid to do a DNA exam in a high-tec...
Source: The Medical Futurist - July 26, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Bioethics Biotechnology Future of Medicine Genomics AI artificial intelligence crime CSI DNA forensic forensic medicine forensic science genetics microbiome police Source Type: blogs
Less help to quit: what ’s happening to stop smoking prescriptions across Britain
This report highlights a 75 per cent decline in stop smoking aids being prescribed by GPs and pharmacists across Great Britain. It finds that: in England there was a 75 per cent decline in the number of stop smoking aids dispensed in 2016- 17 compared with 2005-6; Scotland saw a 40 per cent drop in stop smoking aids prescribed, while in Wales, the number of all stop smoking products dispensed in 2016-17 fell to just a third of what was dispensed in 2007-08; and regional variation of clinical commissioning group prescribing levels is huge. There are many areas where prescriptions are extremely low, even in areas with high n...
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - July 16, 2018 Category: UK Health Authors: The King ' s Fund Information & Knowledge Service Tags: Commissioning Local authorities, public health and health inequalities Source Type: blogs
So long and thanks for all the fish …
Reflecting on Jeremy Hunt ’s legacy Related items fromOnMedica GPs warn government: fund service properly or it will collapse Scotland to introduce legal requirement on NHS staffing Brexit creates uncertainty for EU care workers in Scotland NHS staff report stress, violence and dissatisfaction with pay Junior doctors report widespread ‘burn out,’ survey shows (Source: OnMedica Blogs)
Source: OnMedica Blogs - July 11, 2018 Category: General Medicine Source Type: blogs
True Confessions On Why I Prescribe Things Without'Evidence '
by Drew RosielleWe have a ' required reading ' list for our fellowship, which includes a bunch of what I think are landmark or otherwise really important studies. One of them is thisvery well done RCT of continuous ketamine infusions for patients with cancer pain, which showed it to be ineffective (and toxic).We also recently have seen another high-quality study published with negative results for ketamine. This was a Scottish, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, intention-to-treat, and double-blinded study oforal ketamine for neuropathic pain in cancer patients. The study involved 214 patients, 75% of whom were ...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - July 6, 2018 Category: Palliative Care Tags: fatigue ketamine methylphenidate neuropathic pain research research issues rosielle The profession Source Type: blogs
True Confessions On Why I Prescribe Things Without'Evidence '
by Drew RosielleWe have a ' required reading ' list for our fellowship, which includes a bunch of what I think are landmark or otherwise really important studies. One of them is thisvery well done RCT of continuous ketamine infusions for patients with cancer pain, which showed it to be ineffective (and toxic).We also recently have seen another high-quality study published with negative results for ketamine. This was a Scottish, multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, intention-to-treat, and double-blinded study oforal ketamine for neuropathic pain in cancer patients. The study involved 214 patients, 75% of whom were ...
Source: Pallimed: A Hospice and Palliative Medicine Blog - July 6, 2018 Category: Palliative Care Tags: fatigue ketamine methylphenidate neuropathic pain research research issues rosielle The profession Source Type: blogs
