Every Monday our authors provide a round-up of some of the most recently published peer reviewed articles from the field. We don’t cover everything, or even what’s most important – just a few papers that have interested the author. Visit our Resources… Read More »Chris Sampson’s journal round-up for 16th May 2016
Today, two new studies are published examining different aspects of the observed increase in the risk of mortality associated with weekend admission, the so-called ‘weekend effect’. In the first [disclaimer: I am an author of this], the results of a… Read More »The ‘Weekend Effect’ (and what it means for research and policy)
E-cigarettes have become, without doubt, one of the public health issues du jour. Many countries and states have been quick to prohibit them, while others continue to debate the issue. The debate ostensibly revolves around the relative harms of e-cigarettes:… Read More »E-cigarettes and the role of science in public health policy
The Passionate Economist: How Brian Abel-Smith shaped global health and social welfare Hardcover, 581 pages, ISBN: 9781447314844, published 21 November 2013 Amazon / Google Books / Policy Press I enjoy reading about the lives of effective academics. Sally Sheard’s biography of… Read More »Review: The Passionate Economist (Sally Sheard)
The recently delivered Queen’s speech set out the government’s plan for “a 7-day NHS”. This vision is a reaction to alarming statistics that mortality rates are increased by 11% for patients admitted to hospital on a Saturday, and 16% if… Read More »The economics of a 7-day NHS
In a previous post I asked whether the study by Claxton et al can or should inform the cost-effectiveness threshold used by NICE. The authors argued that, “it is the expected health effects … of the average displacement within the… Read More »Identifying the effect of expenditure on health outcomes: another small comment on Claxton et al
NICE recently completed their appraisal of the hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir. However, as has been reported in the media, NHS England will not be complying with the guidance within the normal time period. The cost of a 24 week course of sofosbuvir is almost… Read More »Sofosbuvir: a fork in the road for NICE?
Thrive: The Power of Evidence-Based Psychological Therapies Hardcover, 384 pages, ISBN: 9781846146053, published 3 July 2014 Amazon / Google Books / Allen Lane Mental illness reduces national income by about 4%, and yet we only spend about 13% of our health… Read More »Review: Thrive (Richard Layard, David Clark)
Today sees the publication of surgeons’ death rates on the MyNHS website (see Guardian and BBC stories). The website presents full lists of surgeons by specialty alongside either blue circles with a large ‘OK’ inside, grey circles with question marks, or… Read More »Is there any use in publishing surgeons’ death rates?
There is a considerable furore surrounding the new proposal to pay GPs £55 for each dementia diagnosis. The Patients Association called it “a step too far” that would mean a “bounty on the head” of some patients (link), while the… Read More »Is payment by diagnosis for dementia a good strategy?