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Integrated care scheme for older people and people with diabetes has not reduced emergency admissions in its first year

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:24:15 +0100

Opioids for back pain are linked to increased risk of erectile dysfunction

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:41:59 +0100

The probability of receiving drugs for erectile dysfunction or testosterone replacement increases with increasing dose and duration of opioid treatment, a study has found. Among men who received long term opioids, 19% also received prescriptions for erectile dysfunction or testosterone replacement, compared with 12.5% of men receiving opioids at lower doses and 6.7% of men who had no opioid treatment.

MPs told about practical difficulties of full data disclosure

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:51:18 +0100

Cochrane researchers continue to face challenges over access to data on flu drugs

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:48:13 +0100

Cochrane Collaboration researchers have said that they may be unable to analyse clinical trial data given to them by GlaxoSmithKline on the antiviral drug zanamivir (marketed as Relenza) because nearly two thirds of the reports provided have been redacted in different ways. The researchers have been trying to get access to data held by drug companies on neuraminidase inhibitors for more than three years so that they can review the drugs’ safety and effectiveness.

Number of organ donations to strangers trebled last year

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:35:11 +0100

Vermont governor agrees to sign bill on physician assisted suicide

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:35:11 +0100

Vermont is on the verge of becoming the third US state to allow physicians to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill patients who request the prescriptions. Oregon and Washington states have also adopted similar legislation through voter referendums, but Vermont is the first eastern state to pass a law and the first in the nation to pass it through a vote of a state legislature.

Americans should lower salt intake but not too much, review says

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:35:11 +0100

OFSTED style ratings for hospitals are not specific enough for patient procedures, Francis says

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:35:10 +0100

Under-5 child mortality falls by almost 40% over 20 years in countries with worst record, WHO says

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:35:10 +0100

Autopsies using MRIs in babies and infants could help improve uptake rates

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:35:10 +0100

A large study has found that postmortem examinations in fetuses and infants up to 12 months using a combination of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and blood tests are as accurate as conventional methods.

Assisted suicide for the dying would reduce suffering, says Falconer

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:35:10 +0100

Government welfare cuts are hitting children, says BMA

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:27:50 +0100

BMA disputes government line that evidence for rolling out NHS 111 was robust

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:27:50 +0100

Government’s plan to raise dementia diagnoses gets mixed response

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:27:50 +0100

In brief

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:57:20 +0100

Philadelphia abortion doctor is convicted of murder

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:42:11 +0100

Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia doctor who ran an abortion clinic serving women in mostly poor and minority groups, was convicted yesterday of three counts of first degree murder after a long trial and lengthy jury deliberations.

Obama vows to fully implement Affordable Care Act despite opposition

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:30:20 +0100

Challenge to research on heart disease patterns in India sparks controversy

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:30:20 +0100

A research review has sought a fresh assessment of cardiovascular disease patterns in India, claiming that doctors have argued that coronary heart disease and its risk factors disproportionately affect poor people in India without sufficient evidence.

Medicare fails to monitor questionable prescribing practices, investigation finds

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:30:20 +0100

NHS research authority links approval of trials to registration and publication of results

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:31:07 +0100

Campaigners for transparency of all clinical trial data have welcomed plans set out by the body that oversees research standards in the NHS for the registration of trials and the publication of their results. The new commitments from the NHS Health Research Authority follow a meeting of stakeholders held on 25 April.1 The proposals include granting ethics approval for clinical trials from September 2013 only to researchers who have agreed a timeframe to register their trial.