Archive for 'NHS' Category

Electronic Prescribing

Last September the NHS’s flagship IT project was finally allowed to sink into the Davy Jones locker of the last government’s IT failures, after warnings from Private Eye , the BMA, and even contractors associated with it. It cost over £12 billion. Even now, some companies may be sucked into the depths with it. NHS [...]

Lib Dems (and the NHS)

I had a letter in tonight’s edition of the Evening Standard (21st September 2011, Page 49) , which isn’t easy to link to using the Evening Standard’s E-edition. It was in response to Jenni Russell’s piece. Here’s the text. Some, who deserted Labour, may now regret their support for the Liberal Democrats at the last [...]

Ptttzzz…tick tick Red Tabards

This blog has been slightly lacking in posts over the past few months, but I’ve decided to throw some coal in the fire and get some steam pumping out the cobwebs. First up, is the red tabard story that turned up in the Telegraph last week. Christine Odone cited it as an example of death [...]

Whose White Paper is it anyway?

Why do people want to believe the Liberal Democrats are so fluffy? There is a certain view that the Liberal Democrats rolled over on NHS reform, letting the rapacious Tory party get its evil way with the NHS. There is another view, that the Liberal Democrats are victims being used to absorb all the flak [...]

Unite’s Blood Money Campaign

While outlining the evidence to support de-branding cigarette packaging, Ben Goldacre draws attention to the Unite union’s statement opposing the move. Switching to plain packaging will make it easier to sell their illicit and unregulated products especially to young people. That would undermine the regulated industry, may increase long-term health problems and put workers in [...]

Prescribing Advice for GPs reaches 1000

Congratulations to Matthew Robinson, whose excellent blog Prescribing Advice for GPs has reached the milestone of 1000 posts. Matthew’s focused blog has relentlessly and consistently posted items of interest to prescribers for over five years. If you are a Prescriber, or are interested in prescribing issues, then I recommend you go and visit.

Licence to print money?

A few years ago, there was concern that pharmaceutical companies were not sufficiently interested in the development of licenced drugs for rare (or “orphan”) medical conditions. Experience in the US and Japan suggested that legislation to encourage pharmaceutical manufacturers to become involved in developing so-called orphan drugs was effective. Similar legislation was passed in 1999 [...]

The Coalition NHS White Paper

This isn’t a post in which I am going to set out my views on the NHS White Paper issued today, I’ve only skimmed it. I am going to note in passing that some people have failed to pay attention to what the coalition parties, with a particular focus on the Liberal Democrats, were saying [...]

Humility and healthcare in the US

Some people in the US seem to think Obama is Hitler, because he wants to reform their healthcare. If only Hitler had stuck to being a healthcare reformer, instead of annexing the Sudetenland… The majority of US citizens think US health care is the best in the world. Therefore it is understandable that they would [...]