Overturners of conventional wisdom – Copernicus and Mary Baker Eddy

History is graced with individuals who have taken a brave stand for ...

A doctor’s daughter and an atheist – why does she now turn to prayer as a “first resort”?

Today’s blog is a guest blog from Polly Castor. Polly “is a ...

Media: Guardian features “Comment is free – belief” answer by District Manager

The whole of last week, the Guardian’s comment is free – belief ...

Is being a satisfied patient bad for your health?

The familiar expression “the squeaky wheel gets the oil/grease” suggests making a fuss gets you a head start in the competition for services. But what does it say if the successful “squeaky wheel” on the trail for the best medical services ends up with worse outcomes? That’s what data indicates in a survey of 50,000 [...]

Is the increasing medicalisation of society inevitable? Or is there a better way?

With mission creep in medicalisation categorising normal human challenges as “sickness” do we need to call a halt? Can we even expect a reversal of today’s medicalisation trends based on a better model of understanding health as normal? Here is an excerpt from The “Medicalisation of Normality” or the Normalisation of Health? Let’s Choose Wisely - my [...]

In a world of decreasing “stuff” is medicine following suit?

How are we doing at reducing our “stuff” intake as a society? And how are we doing at reducing our “stuff” intake as medical consumers?  Do promising stats for the former auger well for changes to the latter? Below is an excerpt from Are We Seeing a “Dematerialisation” of Medicine? - my most recent Huffington Post UK blog. It seems that material [...]

What happens when love takes a stand?

In commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day 2012 which has the theme Speak Up, Speak Out I thought it would be worth sharing again this blog of those who did speak up and out. The Holocaust. The lowest point of man’s inhumanity to man. But amidst the horrific evil it spawned were occasional emissaries of extreme goodness. My [...]

Is there another way when medical research results are reversed?

What are we to think if medical advice flip-flops? Is there anything available based on a “fixed principle”?  When scientific research methodically shows inconsistency, is it time to explore other approaches to care and cure? Below is an excerpt from Is Aspirin Advice Increasingly Hard to Swallow? - my most recent Huffington Post UK blog. (Please “FB share”, “tweet”, [...]

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day…let’s live the Second Commandment!

My colleague and friend Ken Girard re-published this blog on his site – recently renamed Thresholds - as “a valuable reminder of the work that needs to be done to eliminate all forms of prejudice”. I second that emotion. It is entitled PRIDE AND PREJUDICE - and it reads just as well today as it did on last Martin Luther King, [...]

A message to the media in times of change

In times of uncertainty and change this is a nice message to the media and to all of us from my Merseyside colleague Irene Hall. It has been published in the Liverpool Daily Post today, in its last week as a daily print newspaper.  BIG changes are afoot this year – maybe in your life, and certainly [...]

Dementia and drug-free solutions

What are our options if faced with a diagnosis of dementia? Might therapies without drugs prove helpful?  A scientific research project and an individual’s spiritual journey point to that possibility in Do Drug-Free Options Offer Fresh Hope? - my most recent Huffington Post UK blog. (Please “FB share”, “tweet”, “email” “G+″ it or “FB like” it from the [...]

The “healthy lives” of Christian Scientists – a doctor’s view

A very interesting blog has just been posted by a US primary care internist on a blogsite called Why is American Health Care So Expensive? The article is called: “Christian Science, faith healing and mind-body medicine with mention of the work of Elisabeth Fischer Targ MD”. The blogger is a clinician who writes from the perspective [...]

Struggling to keep those resolutions? Some ideas…

Resolving to make changes for the better is a good idea any time of the year…but each New Year helpfully reminds us of that fact! My latest Huffington Post UK blog has been published as “Keeping on Track With Those “New Year” Resolutions – 6 Ways to Build a Healthy Resolve”.  (Please “FB share”, “tweet”, [...]