A new paper published in the international open access scientific journal, PLOS ONE reports on the results of community focus groups with Australia women – investigating views about overdiagnosis and low bone density, or osteoporosis.
Questions over patient group links with industry
A commentary published in January in the leading United States medical journal, JAMA Internal Medicine, calls for much greater transparency and independence between patient advocacy groups and the pharmaceutical industry.
Questioning Disease Definitions
A new study in early 2016, which interviewed British doctors, has some very interesting findings about their attitudes to the condition known as “Chronic Kidney Disease”. The full text of the study, published in BMJ Open, is available here for free.
“CKD” was defined in 2002, and labels many people who will never experience any kidney disease. It is a good example of a controversial disease definition which is being questioned by doctors and others.
Extracts from the findings and discussion from the BMJ Open piece are here:
“The introduction of ‘CKD’ as a new disease construct conflicted with most GP professional values and personal understandings of general practice medicine.”
“I think when it first came in as an idea…we all rolled our eyes and went ‘Oh my God’, you know? They’re creating an illness that doesn’t exist.” (GPD)
“The inclusion of the words ‘chronic’ and ‘disease’ in the term CKD was also identified as a source of tension for clinicians.”
The 4th Preventing Overdiagnosis conference, which discusses studies like this one, is being held in Barcelona, September 20-22, 2016.
Preventing Overdiagnosis 2016 will be in Barcelona
Following the successful 2015 conference at the National Institutes for Health in the United States, the 4th international Preventing Overdiagnosis scientific conference will be held in Barcelona in 2016. Dates will be announced soon. For more information click http://preventingoverdiagnosis.net
Dr Iona Heath free public lecture in Sydney
One of the great minds in medicine, British GP Dr Iona Heath, is giving a free public lecture at the University of Sydney, August 5 at 6pm. You need to register, and you can find details here
Preventing Overdiagnosis conference at NIH
The 2015 international Preventing Overdiagnosis conference will kick off September 1 at the National Institutes of Health in the US. More info here
Overselling genetic testing – published in China Newsweek
Recommended Reading – The Circle
You can read Ray’s latest BMJ column – inspired by Dave Egger’s classic novel “The Circle” here
The BMJ column explores the critically acclaimed novel’s take on the future of medicine – and our obsession with measuring everything.
From the February BMJ column: “Leaving aside concern about government or corporate misuse of data, our obsession with quantification—unmodified by uncertainty and by clear awareness of limitations—carries its own tyranny. Our faith in medical numbers, sometimes little more than fabricated fictions arbitrarily interpreted, demands a reality check.”
Preventing Overdiagnosis – September 15-17, 2014, Oxford University
Ray helping to open the 2013 Preventing Overdiagnosis conference
Following the success of the 2013 Preventing Overdiagnosis conference, held at Dartmouth College in the United States, the second Preventing Overdiagnosis conference will be held at the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. You can read the 2013 conference statement, view videos of conference plenaries and see details of the 2014 conference, here
Experts who define diseases often tied to drug companies
A new study published in the influential open access medical journal PLOS Medicine, has found that many of the experts who define diseases – and often widen those definitions – also work as paid consultants and speakers for drug companies which stand to benefit from their decisions. You can see the free full text of the study here
Ray Moynihan 