New training dates announced
We are pleased to be able to confirm the dates for our next public training courses in medical writing. Our 1-day introductory course will be on 17 September, and our 2-day course for healthcare professionals will be on 28-29 October. Continue reading→Sausages, steaks, and socioeconomic status
A story in the news today tells us that sausages (and indeed other kinds of processed meats) increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, whereas steaks (and other forms of unprocessed read meats) do not. This is based on a study published in Circulation, which rather annoyingly, is behind a paywall, so I haven't read the full paper. The study was done at the Harvard School of Public Health, and shame on them for not making their research freely available in an open-access journal.
Continue reading→EMWA conference, day 4
Well, the EMWA conference is all over now, and I am safely back in London, having cunningly dodged the ash cloud by a rather small margin on both my outward and return journeys.
The final day of the conference began with a plenary lecture about the importance of compliance with promotional codes, such as that by the ABPI, when writing materials that could be used for promotional purposes. One of the great challenges in this area is that codes are not harmonised across countries, so material that might be perfectly compliant in the UK might fall foul of the code in Germany, for example, or vice versa. Definitely an area with many pitfalls for the unwary.
Continue reading→EMWA conference, day 3
It's been a busy day at the EMWA conference today (well, technically yesterday now) without a spare 5 minutes to update the blog until now.
The day began at 8 am with a plenary lecture on knowledge and information management. Some good hints and tips there, especially for the knowledge management wiki that we've recently set up at Dianthus.
Continue reading→EMWA conference, day 2
Day 2 at the EMWA conference has been considerably less busy for me than yesterday. My only engagement today was attending a short seminar this morning on Web 2.0 for medical writers. Plenty to think about, with tools such as blogging, social networking, and Twitter becoming ever more a part of our lives (well, you're reading this blog, aren't you?)
Continue reading→EMWA conference, day 1
I write this from the EMWA conference in Lisbon, as the serious business of the first day has drawn to a close. I was relieved that all the Dianthus team made it to Lisbon despite the disruption from the ash cloud, even though the other members of the team had a hideous journey and got here far later than scheduled. Still at least they got here.
Continue reading→UK Biobank part 2
I blogged about the UK Biobank study back in January. My two main concerns were that the NHS had passed on my personal data without my consent to the UK Biobank team, and that the UK Biobank's literature described the handling of biological samples as "anonymous", when in fact it wasn't. I had other concerns too. In short, I wasn't very happy.
Continue reading→EMWA conference
We (Adam, Debbie, Nancy, and Alice) will be going to the EMWA conference in Lisbon on 11-15 May. We are looking forward to catching up with many old friends and making some new ones.
Adam will be presenting his workshop on statistical analysis of binary data, as well as short seminars on XML for medical writers and CDISC.
Continue reading→Evidence based footcare part 2
As an update to my earlier post about some foot cream that was supposed to stop me getting blisters when training for and running in the Brighton Marathon, I now have the results.
I used the cream on my left foot, but not on my right, for about 3 weeks before the race.
Continue reading→NHS summary care records
I had a letter from the NHS yesterday, telling me that they would like to create a summary care record (SCR) for me. In fact they wanted to do it so much that they were going to go ahead and create one even if I don't ask them to.
Oh goody.
So what does this mean, exactly? Well, it means that my personal medical details would be uploaded onto a giant database that would be available to anyone working in the NHS who happens to be treating me, wherever they are in the country. In theory, the SCR is supposed to improve the safety and quality of patient care by ensuring that relevant staff have the information they need.
Continue reading→