ONLY three per cent of people suggested generic drugs as a way to reduce prices in a survey of Irish consumers’ awareness and attitudes to the cost of medicines. Overall, 39 per cent said they were aware generic medicines were produced. A total of 67 per cent said they would like to see generic drugs [...]
Dr Robert O’Sullivan on the diseases that still bear the names of Nazi doctors — now thought to be despicable criminals and murderers. An eponym is a disease, structure or species named after a person; usually the person who discovered it or who first described it. They are used throughout the medical literature and have [...]
Dr Joyce Galbraith writes that while there are mixed views on fast-track courses into medicine, there is no substitute for a good grounding in anatomy. The increasing use of the so-called ‘fast-track’ method of medical training has caused some critics to regard this new system as a dumbing-down of academic standards — which, in some [...]
Dr John Wallace on qualitative research, an increasingly important form of evidence that can make a significant contribution to patient care. Qualitative research (QR) is about understanding the experiences and values of patients. Instead of looking at numbers, it focuses on the patient’s own views of their illness. It explores the personal account or ‘narrative’ [...]
Niamh Mullen speaks to some of the people behind the projects that have been shortlisted for this year’s Health Literacy Awards. More than 50 per cent of Irish people are affected in some way by literacy difficulties, which could impact on their ability to make good decisions about their health. Tackling this issue is the [...]
Simon Mills writes that the reporting in the media of the recent Fitness to Practice committee should surely send a shiver down the spine of all doctors. The news of the first public hearing of the Fitness to Practice Committee of the Medical Council must surely have sent shivers down the spine of many doctors. [...]
Greg Baxter undergoes a 24-hour monitoring of his blood pressure — under the supervision of Prof Eoin O’Brien — and learns how the system is superior to traditional methods. At the beginning of December last year, I underwent a 24-hour blood pressure check. The idea came about while interviewing Prof Eoin O’Brien, president of the [...]
Ed Madden, BL, looks at a recent High Court case in which a Polish midwife challenged a decision of An Bord Altranais to erase her name from the Nursing Register. Gertruda Kudelska, a Polish national, first came to Ireland in late November 2005 with the intention of establishing herself as a nurse and midwife in [...]
Dara Gantly writes that it remains to be seen whether new legal protection for whistleblowers will make a difference to the quality of the health service The effectiveness of new legal protections for ‘whistleblowers’ in the health service will only be known over time, a leading legal expert has stated. Niall O’Brien, Head of Public [...]
It appears that another St Patrick’s Day has passed. I only know that it most likely definitely took place because I saw a guy, covered in an Irish flag, passed out by the bus stop in Darndale, with a painted-green pony trying to nudge him awake. Or maybe that’s every day. Had a drink with [...]
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