Like nearly all of us, I sometimes look at astrological forecasts. At the start of this year nobody predicted a pandemic. Yet, to give credit where due, the prediction was for a year of unusually big upheaval based on a conjunction of Saturn and Pluto. Apparently...
There is increasing interest in the over use of medical tests, medications and procedures. There has been a belief that more medicine equals better health. In reality it does not. Whilst we absolutely can and do benefit from the advances medicine has made, too much of...
Recently I had the great pleasure of giving a talk to a group of University students who are part of Mannkal Scholars. These are students who are wanting to expand their minds and be challenged by ideas rather than retreat into safe spaces. The topic was the Black...
A recent paper in the Medical Journal of Australia (here) provides a nice overview of the biases that lead doctors to overtreat and overinvestigate, but also offers useful solutions that we need to act on. A cognitive bias is where existing beliefs persist in the face...
One of the things doctors worry about the most is missing a diagnosis. Treatment starts with diagnosis and to miss a cancer or other serious illness risks exposing people to considerable harm. This driving force has led to the concept of screening for illness in an...
Conflicting views have again emerged about statin medications in two leading British Medical Journals. Statins are used to lower cholesterol and have been the best selling drugs of the past 25 years with sales in the tens of billions of dollars. The Lancet published a...
