equipocesca

The British Medical Journal has had problems with two papers about primary prevention of coronary artery disease (heart disease). Both papers have data that demonstrate statins have no use in primary prevention for most patients. The British Medical Journal problems relate to power, money and censorship. In this text a teacher explain the situation to [...]

Last 25th March, OCU joined and signed “Action on Selling Sickness” during a public action in a press conference. The Organization of Spanish Consumers is a private and independent one. OCU has translated into Spanish the document, and have started a campaign againts “medicalization of daily life” http://www.ocu.org/salud/medicamentos/informe/demasiados-medicamentos/stampa Notice the Spanish impact in the call [...]

The Basque Health Service, Osakidetza, established in 2003 a centralized data base, Osabide, with two millions medical records in full without asking permission or even notifying patients or the public (in some cases against the written opposition of a few patients who knew about the initiative). Two general practitioners who rejected Osabide and prepared a [...]

Too much of a good thing is bad. Too much of good thing may not be wonderful. You can have too much of a good thing as food and alcohol and the excess of either can make you fat or drunk. In medicine, in general, the motto should be “maximum quality, minimum quantity”. Because more [...]

A minimum basic data set (MBDS) was designed and used in general practice. The most important purpose and need for establishing such a data set is to assist in the provision of patient care. MBDS is designed to meet common needs for many general practitioners. Minimum means that individual programmes or the GP are free [...]

Falls cause important morbidity and mortality in elderly people, but can occur at any age. They can be caused by various concurrent causes. Psychotropic agents such as benzodiazepines and other hipnotic drugs, antidepressants, antipsychotics and opioids have been associated with a higher incidence of falls. To avoid fractures the key question is to avoid falls. [...]

Democracy is associated with a better level of health, but not all democratic policies bring about the same health results, or the same alternatives as regards the organisation of services. In Spain there in an association between right-wing governments and less interest in primary health care. Health and politics: a not so innocent relationship. Gérvas [...]