Healthy Conversations
(now titled The Talking Cure)
We know that the doctor-patient relationship is changing. Sources of health information have multiplied and the GP’s monopoly on knowledge is wobbling. But as we move from paternalism to ‘patient-centred’ how should we think about professionalism and expertise? What are the advantages and challenges of patients and the public playing a more active role in their own healthcare? As the questions patients ask of their doctors become more complicated, how do conversations with doctors need to change?
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The Talking Cure
Wednesday morning was the launch of The Talking Cure. Faizal and I wrote the pamphlet to try to capture the changing conversations taking place between professionals and patients around health. The discussion at the launch was fascinating and impassioned. Howard Stoate gave us his perspective at the only practising GP in the House of Commons. Richard Horton was as thoughtful and fired up as ever.
You can listen to all of the speeches, questions etc. here. continue reading on 19th May 2008 - ‘Complements’ and sweet talk Dr. Edzard Ernst, a prominent professor of alternative medicine, is interviewed in today’s Independent talking about his new book, Trick or Treatment. From what I gather, it gives alternative medicine a bit of kicking, demonstrating its ineffectiveness when subjected to randomised controlled trials.Two interesting points strike me about the article.The first is that whilst Dr. Ernst is very critical about the complementary medicine industry, he doesn’t shy away from criticising... continue reading 22nd April 2008 Comments (2)
- Podcast: One healthy conversation Last Thursday, we hosted a conversation among various people interested in the changes to the ways that patients talk to doctors and to each other. We were delighted to have Harry Cayton and Angela Coulter to prompt the discussion. They have both been at the heart of debates about patient engagement in health for years - Harry as patient tsar at the Department of Health and formerly head of the Alzheimers Society and Angela as head of the Picker Institute.We have recorded their talks for a... continue reading on 19th October 2007
- NHS Productivity Opening the papers this morning, it looks like Derek Wanless has thrown the efficiency cat amongst the NHS pigeons. We already knew that a large proportion of extra NHS funding went on staff wages, yet according to Wanless we have seen little increase in productivity. Improvements in smoking cessation and increased life expectancy are being countered by increasingly poor lifestyles/obesity and rising health inequalities between rich and poor.According to NHS statistics total staffing (FTE) in... continue reading 11th September 2007 Comments (2)
- GP hours - Time for change? According to the Times today Alan Johnson is set to challenge some of the terms of the GP contract by proposing that GP’s open surgery out of hours and on weekends. This has met with some criticism from the BMA, who argue that other professionals don’t have to work weekends, and that out of hours work would mean a reduction of normal hours service.There are genuine questions to be asked around how to shape our current model of GP care to best suit the healthcare requirements... continue reading 10th September 2007 Comments (3)