Richard Armitage visits the wild frontier of LLM-powered commercial health apps and reflects on three examples: ElliQ, MMGuardian and WHOOP Coach
Throughout medical history, there has been a tension between systems that locate health within the patient and those that have it outside. Ben Hoban finds the determinants of health and illness by looking in and by looking out.
In this episode, we talk to Professor Kate Brain about patterns of patient characteristics associated with satisfaction with remote consultations.
Nada Khan argues that it’s worth just reflecting back on what was on offer and why, whether this retention scheme was working, and what future plans NHS England may have to keep GPs in practice.
In 2020, Bevan secured funding to implement a Starting Well programme. Their aim was to empower women and their families to improve the outcome of future generations by optimising their physical, psychological, and social wellbeing prior to conception.
David Jeffrey reviews a terrific manual for bibliophiles. General practitioners may be reassured that bibliomaniacs, as yet, do not present for therapeutic intervention.
Drawing inspiration from Brazil, Cornelia Junghans, Matthew Harris, and Azeem Majeed suggest building a community infrastructure of trained and paid Community Health and Wellbeing Workers (CHWWs) who work with GPs, community services and local authority.
Ahmed Rashid muses about surgical site infection, opioid dependence, racial diversity, and 'Meals on Wheels'
In this episode, we talk to Dr Jennifer Voorhees about the paradox of access to care in general practice.
It’s worth examining the reasons in the health system for supporting special interests. Are we playing Jenga with the health system, continually removing building blocks to replace obvious deficiencies in a rickety structure? Or are we enhancing the generalist, patient-centred care that
Richard Armitage predicts how AI can transform clinician-patient consultation.
Science Fictions is an accessible and enjoyable read that is directly relevant to our work as GPs, useful for our much-needed critical appraisal skills, and fascinating to the curious mind that wishes to explore the behind-the-scenes goings on that underlie the research
Even as a GP trainee in the mid-90s, I genuinely don’t recall learning about the concept or practice of clinical reasoning. It’s not as if we weren’t guided on data synthesis or critical thinking, or the importance of these aspects of the
Hannah Milton reflects on domestic abuse statistics in relation to men and women
At the most recent WONCA global conference in October 2023, the WONCA Women’s Working Party on Women and Family Medicine (WWPWFM) met with young doctors movements from all world regions, to discuss common themes and possible ways to work together. Amanda Howe
In this episode, we talk to Isabel Leach about the patient perspectives around end of life care.
We know (from that research) that higher continuity is associated with lower mortality rates, reduced healthcare costs, higher patient satisfaction, safer prescribing and reduced hospitalisations. But what about patient safety incidents? Nada Khan investigates
"... the overall impression is that everything in here is still very relevant today — some maybe even more so than when he first wrote it." – Elke Hausmann reviews David Servan-Schreiber's 'The Instinct to Heal' 20 years on from it's original publication.
Considering a dual role as a GP-academic? Daniel Baumgardt has some reflections to share!
The good news is that there are at least ten evidence-based ways to enhance empathy. These take little time and can pay back the moments invested (sometimes with compound interest).
Over 4 million people watched the first episode of Mr Bates against the Post Office when it screened on New Year’s Day. And suddenly things started to happen. David Misselbrook reflects on what this might mean for British medicine...
In this episode, we talk to Dr Alice Harper about the patient experience of coeliac disease diagnosis.
The Lancet declares that “generative AI is not an author”, and dictates that “these tools should only be used to improve language and readability”. But are these statements – the first a factual claim, the second a normative assertion – entirely true?
In a world of immediacy and impermanence, my two cards and lonely box of chocolates earn a particular significance. They emphasise the humanity that is still possible in General Practice despite the need to count, measure, and capture everything – a connection
Bad Blood, the 2019 book (with a new 2023 afterword) by seasoned journalist John Carreyrou, offers a deep dive into the dramatic rise and fall of Theranos, a once-promising biotech startup in the US. Self-admitted 'health-tech' enthusiast Richard Armitage reviews the book.
‘The doctor wants you to come back to discuss your results’. That’s what the receptionist said when she called me. ‘Can you tell me anything more?’ I asked, my body instantly awash with bilious panic. ‘No, sorry’ she said, before scheduling the
The introduction of new roles working alongside GPs should improve access, quality and contain costs in health care, but these new roles cannot fill the skill gaps left by the shortage of GPs. Terry Kemple looks at the evidence.
The total number of monthly appointments in general practice increased by over 30% between December 2017 and October 2023. Over this same period, the number of fully qualified FTEs fell by 5%. Richard Armitage analyses the numbers ...
Pain: The Ultimate Mentor is a deeply insightful book that reshapes our understanding of pain and its role in our lives, offering a fresh and practical perspective on managing pain ...
The links between my passion for Bronze Age Greece and working in modern-day practice have never felt tangible, until I recently took time to reflect. Look close enough and you’ll find the threads of history woven throughout medicine and, like all history,
Between May and August 2023, video/online appointments increased four-fold. Richard Armitage delves into the data ...
In a parallel reality, and in a distant multiverse and metaverse, BJGP Life has, in a Christmas charity raffle won a chance to interview Schrodinger’s Prime Minister (PM) a self confessed Artificial Intelligence (AI) nerd himself, the Right Hon Richard Turpin.
If you’re in the market for a short read to lift your spirits at Christmas, Dickens’ classic really delivers. It is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an old miser described in deliciously grim terms...
"We have three responses to the current crisis in Palestine. They are not unique to us but are informed by our work as GPs and connection to Palestinian primary care ... "
...while the risk of bear attacks or frostbite is substantially lower than in the popular namesake television series, GP trainees face a range of similar challenges as their TV counterparts – isolation, uncertainty, a steep learning curve, and genuine fear.
General Practice has been diluted by demand and lost all flavour. Young doctors have no taste for it and, with the NHS in free-fall, we need to now undertake some fundamental changes. John Havard and colleagues offer a gin and tonic themed
Join us for the BJGP Christmas stocking filler book club podcast!
A new study in BMJ Quality and Safety by Rebecca Payne and colleagues set out to learn why safety incidents occur in remote encounters and how they can be prevented. Here, Richard Armitage presents a concise summary with his own thoughts and
I left a job today. It was a good job with good people, which is always hard. It’s so much easier to leave when the interpersonal environment is toxic. It’s difficult when colleagues are deeply collegiate, but the structure is exploitative.
A really, really, long book, but it is hard to see what could be cut from it without losing some of the meaning. So, my one-line summary would be “Modern life is toxic to our physical and emotional health and here is