Intended for healthcare professionals

Poll archive

Polls in 2020

  • Do you ever ask a patient's relative to interpret during a consultation?

    Yes: 1056 (74%)
    No: 376 (26%)
    Total votes cast: 1432
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  • Do you take a lunch break at work?

    Yes: 1,569 (61%)
    No: 1,008 (39%)
    Total votes cast: 2,577
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  • Do you have adequate opportunity to rehydrate on the wards?

    Yes: 169 (27%)
    No: 450 (73%)
    Total votes cast: 619
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  • France removed state funding for dementia drugs. Should other countries follow suit?

    Yes: 233 (25%)
    No: 701 (75%)
    Total votes cast: 934
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Polls in 2019

  • Will you be wearing festive attire on the wards?

    Yes: 401 (35%)
    No: 748 (65%)
    Total votes cast: 1,149
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  • Should medical schools relax academic admission criteria?

    Yes: 1,006 (41%)
    No: 1,472 (59%)
    Total votes cast: 2,478
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  • Should homeopaths have their professional accreditation revoked?

    Yes: 890 (16%)
    No: 4,507 (84%)
    Total votes cast: 5,397
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  • Do you prefer to work in a practice near where you live or opt for the anonymity that distance provides?

    Yes: 239 (69%)
    No: 109 (31%)
    Total votes cast: 348
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  • Is Dengvaxia a useful vaccine for dengue endemic areas?

    Yes: 174 (59%)
    No: 122 (41%)
    Total votes cast: 296
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  • Should point-of-care ultrasonography replace stethoscopes in acute respiratory failure?

    Yes: 384 (41%)
    No: 551 (59%)
    Total votes cast: 935
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  • Should chemistry A levels no longer be necessary to study medicine?

    Yes: 290 (32%)
    No: 607 (68%)
    Total votes cast: 897
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  • Is WHO’s surgical safety checklist being hyped?

    Yes: 259 (48%)
    No: 281 (52%)
    Total votes cast: 540
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  • Should obesity be recognised as a disease?

    Yes: 1191 (68%)
    No: 564 (32%)
    Total votes cast: 1755
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  • Can apps relieve pressure on emergency departments?

    Yes: 193 (49%)
    No: 202 (51%)
    Total votes cast: 395
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  • Should the supply of cannabis be legalised now?

    Yes: 930 (71%)
    No: 387 (29%)
    Total votes cast: 1,317
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  • Is resilience training helpful?

    Yes: 311 (54%)
    No: 268 (46%)
    Total votes cast: 579
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  • Does the old firm system improve teamworking and morale?

    Yes: 288 (74%)
    No: 101 (26%)
    Total votes cast: 389
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  • Correction: These poll results were initially reported incorrectly due to human error, with the Yes and No votes the wrong way round. This has now been corrected.

  • Should measles vaccination be compulsory?

    No: 1890 (72%)
    Yes: 741 (28%)
    Total votes cast: 2631
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  • How should funding to improve rest facilities be spent?

    Renovating doctors' messes: 197 (41%)
    Satellite rest spaces on wards: 169 (35%)
    Outdoor break areas: 111 (23%)
    Total votes cast: 477
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  • Shall we scrap 10 minute consultations in general practice?

    Yes: 549 (73%)
    No: 203 (27%)
    Total votes cast: 752
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  • Is excessive use of social media an addiction?

    Yes: 899 (90%)
    No: 99 (10%)
    Total votes cast: 998
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  • Which do you value more: working conditions or pay?

    Working conditions: 630 (79%)
    Pay: 168 (21%)
    Total votes cast: 1128
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  • Should the tobacco industry compensate people with lung cancer, throat cancer, or emphysema?

    Yes: 564 (50%)
    No: 564 (50%)
    Total votes cast: 1128
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  • Do we need more palliative care training in primary care?

    Yes: 498 (89%)
    No: 64 (11%)
    Total votes cast: 562
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  • Should authors publish in open access journals?

    Yes: 550 (92%)
    No: 45 (8%)
    Total votes cast: 595
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  • Should GPs be at the forefront of defining diseases to limit overdiagnosis?

    Yes: 317 (69%)
    No: 142 (31%)
    Total votes cast: 459
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  • Have you ever taken a career break from medicine?

    Yes: 541 (65%)
    No: 291 (35%)
    Total votes cast: 832
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  • Is participants' informed consent always necessary for low risk pragmatic trials?

    Yes: 488 (78%)
    No: 134 (22%)
    Total votes cast: 622
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  • Do you have adequate access to rest facilities?

    Yes: 324 (67%)
    No: 163 (33%)
    Total votes cast: 487
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  • Should we enforce the reduction of salt content in foods purchased for consumption outside the home?

    Yes: 745 (81%)
    No: 171 (19%)
    Total votes cast: 916
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  • International: Should palliative care be rebranded?

    Yes: 190 (50%)
    No: 193 (50%)
    Total votes cast: 383
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  • UK: Is an opt-out system likely to increase organ donation?

    Yes: 72 (77%)
    No: 21 (23%)
    Total votes cast: 93
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  • UK: Should the other royal colleges and the BMA follow the RCP by polling their members’ views on assisted dying?

    Yes: 135 (50%)
    No: 133 (50%)
    Total votes cast: 268
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  • International: Are your healthcare premises fit for purpose?

    Yes: 36 (68%)
    No: 17 (32%)
    Total votes cast: 53
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  • Should we screen for atrial fibrillation?

    Yes: 451 (68%)
    No: 216 (32%)
    Total votes cast: 667
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  • Should we rename low risk cancers?

    Yes: 1041 (52%)
    No: 971 (48%)
    Total votes cast: 2012
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  • Have dietary guidelines persuaded you to switch from eating butter to margarine?

    Yes: 311 (17%)
    No: 1572 (83%)
    Total votes cast: 1883
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Polls in 2018

  • UK: Is the NHS well prepared for Brexit?

    Yes: 13 (6%)
    No: 210 (94%)
    Total votes cast: 233
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  • International: Which is the biggest obstacle to the advancement of women in medicine and science?

    Access to advanced appointments: 388 (48%)
    Bias in research funding: 238 (30%)
    Access to journal publication: 64 (8%)
    Invitations to present at meetings: 113 (14%)
    Total votes cast: 803
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  • Is it time to start using the emoji in biomedical literature?

    Yes: 525 (28%)
    No: 1337 (82%)
    Total votes cast: 1861
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  • Should medical devices be regulated like drugs?

    Yes: 857 (81%)
    No: 196 (19%)
    Total votes cast: 1053
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  • Is it ethical to broadcast live surgery on TV?

    Yes: 607 (48%)
    No: 647 (52%)
    Total votes cast: 1254
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  • Will more social prescribing save money?

    Yes: 236 (55%)
    No: 196 (45%)
    Total votes cast: 432
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  • Should we tax red meat?

    Yes: 582 (41%)
    No: 844 (59%)
    Total votes cast:1426
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  • Could artificial intelligence make doctors obsolete?

    Yes: 215 (19%)
    No: 896 (81%)
    Total votes cast:1111
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  • Is doctor-patient confidentiality dying a slow death?

    Yes: 614 (46%)
    No: 711 (54%)
    Total votes cast:1325
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  • Should a conflicts of interests register be held for all doctors?

    Yes: 1418 (79%)
    No: 374 (21%)
    Total votes cast:1792
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  • Can placebo pills be used ethically in clinical practice?

    Yes: 835 (67%)
    No: 416 (33%)
    Total votes cast:1251
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  • UK: Could Brexit harm the NHS?

    Yes: 101 (78%)
    No: 28 (22%)
    Total votes cast:129
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  • International: Will patients benefit from axing peer review to disseminate research faster?

    Yes: 107 (18%)
    No: 496 (82%)
    Total votes cast: 603
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  • Is misuse of social media a sacking offence?

    Yes: 65 (53%)
    No: 305 (42%)
    Total votes cast: 735
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  • UK: Should Public Health England have partnered with Drinkaware?

    Yes: 65 (53%)
    No: 57 (47%)
    Total votes cast: 122
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  • International: Should doctors who refuse the flu vaccine be re-deployed to roles with no patient contact?

    Yes: 441 (20%)
    No: 1723 (80%)
    Total votes cast: 2164
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  • Should the sale of energy drinks to children be banned?

    Yes: 1210 (83%)
    No: 249 (17%)
    Total votes cast: 1459
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  • Which is the bigger challenge when managing ageing populations: frailty or multimorbidity?

    Frailty: 262 (39%)
    Multimorbidity: 413 (61%)
    Total votes cast: 675
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  • Should medical school tuition be free for all students?

    Yes: 671 (68%)
    No: 309 (32%)
    Total votes cast: 980
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  • Should we remove the cancer label in low risk conditions like papillary thyroid cancer?

    Yes: 240 (42%)
    No: 337 (58%)
    Total votes cast: 577
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  • Should medical students take the Hippocratic Oath (or a version of it)?

    Yes: 748 (79%)
    No: 194 (21%)
    Total votes cast: 942
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  • Should doctors refuse education that has been sponsored by industry?

    Yes: 315 (42%)
    No: 427 (58%)
    Total votes cast: 742
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  • Should cosmetic surgery and slimming pill advertisements be banned during TV ad breaks?

    Yes: 536 (83%)
    No: 111 (17%)
    Total votes cast: 647
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  • Does evidence based medicine adversely affect clinical judgment?

    Yes: 264 (40%)
    No: 396 (60%)
    Total votes cast: 660
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  • Should surgical mesh for stress urinary incontinence be halted?

    Yes: 196 (68%)
    No: 92 (32%)
    Total votes cast: 288
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  • Should doctors go to patients’ funerals?

    Yes: 267 (34%)
    No: 519 (66%)
    Total votes cast: 786
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  • Should consensual prostitution be decriminalised?

    Yes: 439 (75%)
    No: 150 (25%)
    Total votes cast: 589
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  • When in the public eye–eg on social media–should doctors avoid airing views about work?

    Yes: 401 (51%)
    No: 381 (49%)
    Total votes cast: 782
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  • Should parents receive proxy votes for their children to promote children's wellbeing?

    Yes: 133 (39%)
    No: 208 (61%)
    Total votes cast: 341
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  • Should we recommend e-cigarettes to help smokers quit?

    Yes: 584 (51%)
    No: 558 (49%)
    Total votes cast: 1142
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  • Will free canteen breakfasts after night shifts boost morale?

    Yes: 772 (86%)
    No: 123 (14%)
    Total votes cast: 895
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  • Should we try to manage non-financial interests?

    Yes: 159 (69%)
    No: 73 (31%)
    Total votes cast: 232
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  • Are there situations when sharing a patient’s genetic information with relatives without consent is acceptable?

    Yes: 318 (51%)
    No: 303 (49%)
    Total votes cast: 621
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  • Is BMI the best measure of obesity?

    Yes: 247 (24%)
    No: 789 (76%)
    Total votes cast: 1,036
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  • Do you ignore uncertainty in medicine?

    Yes: 103 (19%)
    No: 443 (81%)
    Total votes cast: 546
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  • International: Should doctors recommend acupuncture for pain?

    Yes: 1789 (70%)
    No: 781 (30%)
    Total votes cast: 2570
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  • UK: Is the NHS a millennial friendly employer?

    Yes: 17 (30%)
    No: 40 (70%)
    Total votes cast: 57
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  • Do the benefits of folic acid fortification outweigh the risk of masking vitamin B12 deficiency?

    Yes: 155 (67%)
    No: 76 (33%)
    Total votes cast: 231
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  • Would you rather patients didn't use Google for healthcare?

    Yes: 103 (21%)
    I don't mind it: 301 (61%)
    Depends on their demographic: 91 (18%)
    Total votes cast: 495
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  • Should junior doctors be compensated financially if they miss their breaks?

    Yes: 923 (77%)
    No: 275 (23%)
    Total votes cast: 1,198
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  • Do you use WhatsApp for work?

    Yes: 718 (39%)
    No: 652 (36%)
    I don't use WhatsApp: 450 (25%)
    Total votes cast: 1,820
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  • Should doctor assisted dying be legal?

    Yes: 13,385 (59%)
    No: 9,290 (41%)
    Total votes cast: 22,675
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  • Is appointing a minister for loneliness a good way to help tackle the problem?

    Yes: 203 (28%)
    No: 532 (72%)
    Total votes cast: 733
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    • Do we need to improve the transparency of animal research?

      Yes: 497 (85%)
      No: 86 (15%)
      Total votes cast: 583
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      • Is the concept of clinical equipoise still relevant to research?

        Yes: 197 (84%)
        No: 38 (16%)
        Total votes cast: 235
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      • Polls in 2017

        • Who benefits most from online access to GPs?

          GPs 69 (11%)
          Patients 206 (32%)
          GPs and patients equally 234 (36%)
          There are no benefits 138 (21%)
          Total votes cast: 647
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        • Does Peppa Pig encourage inappropriate use of primary care resources?

          Yes: 367 (60%)
          No: 247 (40%)
          Total votes cast: 614
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        • Is continuous electronic fetal monitoring useful for all women in labour?

          Yes: 243 (34%)
          No: 478 (66%)
          Total votes cast: 721
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        • Have you experienced negative comments about your choice of specialty from a colleague?

          Yes: 420 (65%)
          No: 230 (35%)
          Total votes cast: 650
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        • UK: How do you feel about the NHS in England being given an extra £2.5bn for frontline services?

          Grateful: 33 (33%)
          Disappointed: 50 (50%)
          I don't care: 18 (18%)
          Total votes cast: 100
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        • International: Does being part of a medical or surgical firm improve trainee morale?

          Yes: 295 (76%)
          No: 93 (24%)
          Total votes cast: 388
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        • Is being a doctor "just a job"?

          Yes: 260 (19%)
          No: 1076 (81%)
          Total votes cast: 1336
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        • Should ophthalmologists be able to prescribe bevacizumab?

          Yes: 327 (79%)
          No: 87 (21%)
          Total votes cast: 414
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        • Does telephone triage increase stress on primary care services?

          Yes: 287 (69%)
          No: 127 (31%)
          Total votes cast: 414
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        • UK: Should we scrap the target of a maximum four hour wait in emergency departments?

          Yes: 39 (54%)
          No: 33 (45%)
          Total votes cast: 72
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        • International: Are prescription opioids being demonised unnecessarily?

          Yes: 203 (43%)
          No: 273 (57%)
          Total votes cast: 476
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        • Should staff who refuse a flu vaccine have to give a reason?

          Yes: 513 (45%)
          No: 621 (55%)
          Total votes cast: 1134
          Read related article
        • Do you experience fear of missing out (FOMO) on conferences?

          Yes: 171 (37%)
          No: 294 (63%)
          Total votes cast: 465
          Read related article
        • International: Should tackle and scrum be banned in school rugby?

          Yes: 483 (37%)
          No: 751 (63%)
          Total votes cast: 1189
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        • UK: When a GP practice closes should neighbouring practices have to accept them?

          Yes: 39 (47%)
          No: 44 (53%)
          Total votes cast: 83
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        • UK: Should we welcome plans to sell off NHS land?

          Yes: 12 (19%)
          No: 51 (81%)
          Total votes cast: 63
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        • UK: Should we scrap mental health awareness campaigns?

          Yes: 23 (32%)
          No: 49 (68%)
          Total votes cast: 72
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        • International: How concerned are you about the lack of new antibiotics under development?

          Very concerned: 452 (58%)
          Concerned: 194 (25%)
          Only a little concerned: 84 (11%)
          I don't care about it: 45 (6%)
          Total votes cast: 775
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        • Should Google offer a screening test for depression?

          Yes: 284 (46%)
          No: 335 (54%)
          Total votes cast: 619
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        • Should tweeting pictures of slides presented at conferences be allowed?

          Yes: 440 (66%)
          No: 231 (34%)
          Total votes cast: 671
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        • Are there too many specialties in medicine?

          Yes: 299 (46%)
          No: 349 (54%)
          Total votes cast: 648
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        • Do we need specific safety standards for broadcast material about teenage suicide?

          Yes: 245 (74%)
          No: 88 (26%)
          Total votes cast: 333
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        • Do we need a new way of doing ward rounds?

          Yes: 249 (79%)
          No: 65 (21%)
          Total votes cast: 314
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        • Who is best suited for emergency department triage?

          Junior nurses: 16 (2%)
          Senior nurses: 399 (52%)
          Junior doctors: 113 (15%)
          Consultants: 237 (31%)
          Total votes cast: 765
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        • Should doctors work 24 hour shifts?

          Yes: 286 (12%)
          No: 2057 (88%)
          Total votes cast: 2343
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        • Which works better when it comes to childhood vaccination, education or legislation?

          Education: 361 (62%)
          Legislation: 219 (38%)
          Total votes cast: 580
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        • Should we screen for cirrhosis?

          Yes: 877 (83%)
          No: 177 (17%)
          Total votes cast: 359
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        • Should dermal fillers only be available with prescriptions?

          Yes: 882 (83%)
          No: 178 (17%)
          Total votes cast: 1,060
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        • Do you always say sorry to patients when something has gone wrong?

          Yes: 463 (75%)
          No: 153 (25%)
          Total votes cast: 616
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        • Do doctors have a duty to take part in pragmatic randomised trials?

          Yes: 200 (53%)
          No: 176 (47%)
          Total votes cast: 376
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        • Should there be financial incentives for performing medication reviews?

          Yes: 603 (84%)
          No: 112 (16%)
          Total votes cast: 548
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        • Has working as a doctor had any adverse effects on your wellbeing?

          Yes: 200 (44%)
          No: 258 (56%)
          Total votes cast: 715
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        • Should Dutch law be extended to legalise assisted dying for older people who are healthy but believe their life is complete?

          Yes: 242 (37%)
          No: 411 (63%)
          Total votes cast: 653
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        • Where do you stand on therapeutic cannabinoids?

          I'm for it: 879 (81%)
          I'm against it: 210 (19%)
          Total votes cast: 1089
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        • Should staff on psychiatric wards wear body cameras to reduce attacks?

          Yes: 316 (46%)
          No: 375 (54%)
          Total votes cast: 691
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        • Should doctors have a duty of care to report people they think are at risk of committing terrorist acts?

          Yes: 702 (80%)
          No: 171 (20%)
          Total votes cast: 873
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        • Should healthcare managers be subject to professional regulation in the same way that doctors are?

          Yes: 890 (91%)
          No: 86 (9%)
          Total votes cast: 976
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        • Should we intubate patients during in-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation?

          Yes: 388 (67%)
          No: 188 (33%)
          Total votes cast: 576
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        • Which of these terms that upset patients are you most guilty of using?

          Suffering from: 159 (27%)
          Consenting the patient: 46 (8%)
          Managing the patient: 43 (7%)
          Compliance/non-compliance: 95 (16%)
          Abnormality/abnormal: 122 (21%)
          Bed-blocker: 46 (8%)
          Under the care of: 76 (13%)
          Total votes cast: 587
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        • Should healthcare professionals breach confidentiality when a patient is unfit to drive?

          Yes: 734 (89%)
          No: 93 (11%)
          Total votes cast: 827
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        • Should doctors fight to retain Obamacare?

          Yes: 745 (85%)
          No: 135 (15%)
          Total votes cast: 880
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        • Should new doctors be forced to work for a minimum period in the country where they trained?

          Yes, one year: 186 (11%)
          Yes, two years: 283 (17%)
          Yes, three years: 171 (10%)
          Yes, four years: 51 (3%)
          Yes, five years: 199 (12%)
          Yes, >five years: 83 (5%)
          No: 687 (41%)
          Total votes cast: 1660
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        • GP led triage in all emergency departments: Good or bad idea?

          Good idea: 487 (60%)
          Bad ideas: 326 (40%)
          Total votes cast: 812
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        • Should we commit to eradicating malaria worldwide?

          Yes: 1203 (88%)
          No: 169 (12%)
          Total votes cast: 1372
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        • Do doctors have a duty to hold their silence or to voice concern about Donald Trump's health?

          Yes: 238 (29%)
          No: 591 (71%)
          Total votes cast: 829
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        • Is it time for a dedicated tax to fund the NHS?

          Yes: 928 (73%)
          No: 347 (27%)
          Total votes cast: 1,275
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        • Should US doctors embrace electronic health records?

          Yes: 928 (84%)
          No: 175 (16%)
          Total votes cast: 1,103
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        • Is disclosure alone enough to regulate financial ties between researchers and the drug industry?

          Yes: 82 (17%)
          No: 399 (83%)
          Total votes cast: 3,167
          Read related article
        • Should gluten free food be available on prescription?

          Yes: 2,236 (71%)
          No: 931 (29%)
          Total votes cast: 3,167
          Read related article
        • Should diesel cars be banned from city centres?

          Yes: 499 (64%)
          No: 276 (36%)
          Total votes cast: 775
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        Polls in 2016

        • US, UK, International, South Asia:
          Will a Trump presidency see reduced healthcare premiums?

          Yes: 283 (34%)
          No: 555 (66%)
          Total votes cast: 646
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia:
          Should people with sensitivity to sleep loss work fewer night shifts than others?

          Yes: 438 (68%)
          No: 208 (32%)
          Total votes cast: 646
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia:
          Are referral decisions in your area approved by a third party?

          Yes: 76 (41%)
          No: 110 (59%)
          Total votes cast:203
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia:
          Could private top-up insurance help fund state run health services?

          Yes: 389 (49%)
          No: 408 (51%)
          Total votes cast:797
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: How much should doctors be expected to pay for their medical school training?

          100% of total cost: 186 (15%)
          75%: 62 (5%)
          50%: 214 (17%)
          25%: 204 (16%)
          0%: 577 (46%)
          Total votes cast:1090
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Should general practice be a specialty in its own right?

          Yes: 925 (85%)
          No: 165 (15%)
          Total votes cast:1243
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Should doctors declare their private income?

          Yes: 351 (39%)
          No: 539 (61%)
          Total votes cast: 890
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Is five days too long for a junior doctor strike?

          Yes: 454 (50.4%)
          No: 447 (49.6%)
          Total votes cast: 899
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia:
          Will new sepsis guidance prompt a surge in unnecessary use of antibiotics?

          Yes: 241 (61%)
          No: 157 (39%)
          Total votes cast: 398
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: How long should primary care consultations last?

          Five minutes: 16 (1%)
          10 minutes: 63 (5%)
          15 minutes:353 (28%)
          20 minutes: 248 (20%)
          As long as they take:583 (46%)
          Total votes cast: 1263
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Should street soliciting by sex workers be decriminalised?

          Yes:341 (64%)
          No: 194 (36%)
          Total votes cast: 535
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Should clinicians engage with patient support groups on social media?

          Yes:221 (42%)
          No: 306 (58%)
          Total votes cast: 527
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Should the term "junior doctor" be scrapped?

          Yes: 337 (62%)
          No: 204 (38%)
          Total votes cast: 541
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Can pay for performance improve the quality of primary care?

          Yes: 164 (46%)
          No: 193 (54%)
          Total votes cast: 357
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Do you always remember to introduce yourself to patients (#hellomynameis)?

          Yes: 562 (76%)
          No: 179 (24%)
          Total votes cast: 741
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Which potential Brexit change could most benefit UK patients?

          Tighter language tests for NHS staff 185 (55%)
          Scrapping the working time directive 92 (27%)
          Tougher medical device regulation 62 (18%)
          Total votes cast: 339
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        • US, UK, International, South Asia: Do we need quotas to attract more female surgeons?

          Yes 120 (33%)
          No 249 (67%)
          Total votes cast: 369
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        • UK, International: Should the NHS abolish the purchaser-provider split?

          Yes 195 (83%)
          No 40 (17%)
          Total votes cast: 235
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        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should tampon manufacturers donate a percentage of their profits to help prevent violence against women?

          Yes 418 (52%)
          No 385 (18%)
          Total votes cast: 803
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        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should women in Zika-hit countries be given access to safe abortion and contraception as a human right?

          Yes 729 (82%)
          No 155 (18%)
          Total votes cast: 884
          Read related article
        • UK: Which healthcare issue will most influence how you vote in the EU referendum?

          NHS funding 142 (31%)
          Public health 86 (19%)
          Employment rights 90 (20%)
          Research funding 63 (14%)
          Cross border working 70 (16%)
          Total votes cast: 451
          Read related article
        • US, South Asia, International: Should all pregnant women be offered free vitamin supplements?

          Yes 610 (68%)
          No 290 (32%)
          Total votes cast: 900
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should academic institutions return research funding if findings can’t be reproduced?
          Yes: 222 (28%)
          No: 568 (72%)
          Total votes cast: 790
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should the NHS do more bariatric surgery?
          Yes: 243 (52%)
          No: 226 (48%)
          Total votes cast: 469
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should access to elective surgery be restricted until patients stop smoking or lose weight?
          Yes: 313 (80%)
          No: 77 (20%)
          Total votes cast: 1095
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should access to elective surgery be restricted until patients stop smoking or lose weight?
          Yes: 650 (59%)
          No: 445 (41%)
          Total votes cast: 1095
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should the food industry fund health research?
          Yes: 282 (51%)
          No: 265 (49%)
          Total votes cast: 547
          Read related article
        • UK: Should the UK government introduce fiscal policies to reduce the consumption of alcohol?
          Yes: 116 (82%)
          No: 25 (18%)
          Total votes cast: 141
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, and International: Would adding "exercise needed to burn off calories" to food labels reduce obesity?
          Yes: 1008 (51%)
          No: 959 (49%)
          Total votes cast: 1967
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, and International: Should junior doctors expect a drop in public support as strike action escalates?
          Yes:112 (46%)
          No: 134 (54%)
          Total votes cast: 364
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, and International: Is the timing of recommended childhood vaccines evidence based?
          Yes:185 (51%)
          No: 179 (49%)
          Total votes cast: 364
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should the UK's planned sugar tax include other foods?
          Sweets: 595 (19.85%)
          Cakes: 532 (17.75%)
          Biscuits: 485 (16.18%)
          Chocolate: 450 (15.02%)
          Breakfast cereal: 445 (14.85%)
          Yoghurt: 289 (9.64%)
          No (just sugar sweetened drinks: 201 (6.71%)
          Total votes cast: 2997
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, and International: Should doctors be offered incentives to reduce antibiotic prescribing?
          Yes:298 (37%)
          No: 507 (63%)
          Total votes cast: 805
          Read related article
        • UK and International: Should the NHS offer seven day elective services?
          Yes:102 (31%)
          No: 227 (69%)
          Total votes cast: 329
          Read related article
        • US and India: Do academic researchers have the same responsibility to share data as industry?
          Yes:337 (89%)
          No: 41 (11%)
          Total votes cast: 378
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Are patient partnership groups a waste of time and money?
          Yes:333 (42%)
          No: 455 (58%)
          Total votes cast: 788
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Is the UK healthier in the EU?
          Yes:612 (68%)
          No: 289 (32%)
          Total votes cast: 901
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should Rio still host the Olympics in light of the Zika virus threat?
          Yes: 533 (49%)
          No: 544 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 1087
          Read related content
        • UK, US, South Asia, International:Is the World Health Organization right to tell women in Zika areas not to delay pregnancy?
          Yes: 333 (38%)
          No: 534 (62%)
          Total votes cast: 867
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Is the term "schizophrenia" fit for purpose?
          Yes: 231 (43%)
          No: 300 (56%)
          Total votes cast: 531
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should we ban boxing?
          Yes: 459 (45%)
          No: 566 (55%)
          Total votes cast: 1025
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should a sugar tax be imposed on food and drink sold in hospitals?
          Yes: 735 (67 %)
          No: 367 (33%)
          Total votes cast: 1103
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Could campaigns like dry January do more harm than good?
          Yes: 113 (30 %)
          No: 258 (70%)
          Total votes cast: 371
          Read related head to head
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Should patients pay to see their family doctor?
          Yes: 462 (33%)
          No: 958 (67%)
          Total votes cast: 1420
          Read related article
        • UK: Are GP leaders right to call for the resignation of Steve Field?
          Yes: 82 (71%)
          No: 34 (29%)
          Total votes cast: 116
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Is it okay to cry in front of patients?
          Yes: 1244 (40%)
          No: 1874 (60%)
          Total votes cast: 3118
          Read related article

        Polls in 2015

        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Is accepting gifts from patients entering a Faustian pact?
          Yes: 188 (33%)
          No: 378 (67%)
          Total votes cast: 566
          Read related article
        • UK: Were junior doctors right to suspend strike action?
          Yes: 145 (63%)
          No: 86 (37%)
          Total votes cast: 231
          Read related article
        • US, South Asia, International: Is it the duty of every doctor to get involved in research?
          Yes: 395 (45%)
          No: 484 (55%)
          Total votes cast: 879
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia, International: Is the title "doctor" an anachronism that disrespects patients?
          Yes: 116 (8%)
          No: 1 341 (92%)
          Total votes cast: 1 457
          Read related article
        • UK, International, and South Asia: Do financial incentives have any place in the GP referral system?
          Yes: 115 (19%)
          No: 477 (81%)
          Total votes cast: 592
          Read related article
        • UK, US, International, and South Asia: Is too much hope placed in egg freezing?
          Yes: 308 (71%)
          No: 123 (29%)
          Total votes cast: 431
          Read related article
        • UK, US, International, and South Asia: Should psychiatric hospitals completely ban smoking?
          Yes: 469 (48%)
          No: 510 (52%)
          Total votes cast: 979
          Read related article
        • UK, US, International, and South Asia: Is it ethical for doctors to strike?
          Yes: 1056 (67%)
          No: 517 (33%)
          Total votes cast: 1 573
          Read related article
        • UK, US, South Asia and International: Is medicine the best career in the world?
          Yes: 479 (38%)
          No: 791 (62%)
          Total votes cast: 1 270
          Read related doc2doc post
        • India: Should snakebite be re-established as a neglected tropical disease?
          Yes: 53 (74%)
          No: 19 (26%)
          Total votes cast: 72
          Read related article
        • US and International: Should women abstain from alcohol throughout pregnancy?
          Yes: 1 820 (90%)
          No: 194 (10%)
          Total votes cast: 2 014
          Read related article
        • UK: Do medical organisations have a duty to pay a living wage?
          Yes: 122 (90%)
          No: 13 (10%)
          Total votes cast: 135
          Read related article
        • UK: Do GPs need a new contract?
          Yes: 72 (62%)
          No: 44 (38%)
          Total votes cast: 116
          Read related article
        • UK: Does the new junior doctor contract justify industrial action?
          Yes: 137 (86%)
          No: 23 (14%)
          Total votes cast: 160
          Read related article
        • US and International: If Volkswagen staff can face criminal charges should fraudulent scientists be prosecuted?
          Yes: 786 (93%)
          No: 60 (7%)
          Total votes cast: 846
          Read related article
        • India: Are the Delhi government doing enough to ensure patients with dengue fever can access adequate healthcare?
          Yes: 4 (24%)
          No: 13 (76%)
          Total votes cast: 17
          Read related article
        • UK: Are appraisals a useful way to assess performance?
          Yes: 39 (25%)
          No: 119 (75%)
          Total votes cast: 158
          Read related article
        • US and International: Do the rules of rugby need to change to reduce the risk of concussion?
          Yes: 299 (65%)
          No: 158 (35%)
          Total votes cast: 457
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, and International: Was Public Health England right to endorse electronic cigarettes as a smoking cessation aid?
          Yes: 1,787 (84%)
          No:341 (16%)
          Total votes cast: 2,128
          Read related analysis
        • US, India, and International: Do we need more men in medicine?
          Yes: 387 (49.87%)
          No:389 (50.13%)
          Total votes cast: 776
          Read related response
        • UK: Should the UK government apologise for the Health and Social Care Act?
          Yes: 97 (77%)
          No:29 (23%)
          Total votes cast: 126
          Read related article
        • UK: Should personal health budgets be spent on services such as hydrotherapy, shiatsu, and Indian head massage?
          Yes: 31 (20%)
          No: 121 (80%)
          Total votes cast: 152
          Read related article
        • US, India, and International: Can compassion be learnt?
          Yes: 406 (65%)
          No: 221 (35%)
          Total votes cast: 627
          Read related letter
        • UK: Would judicial consent for assisted dying protect vulnerable people?
          20 August: Yes: 169, No: 25.
          21 August: Yes: 412, No 704.
          22 August: Yes: 106, No: 208.
          23 August: Yes: 23, No: 178.
          24 August: Yes: 27, No: 116.
          25 August: Yes: 17, No: 101.
          26 August: Yes: 12, No: 49.
          27 August: Yes: 13, No: 46.
          28 August: Yes: 15, No: 17.
          29 August: Yes: 5, No: 21.
          30 August: Yes: 5, No: 19.
          31 August: Yes: 6, No: 29.
          1 September: Yes: 4, No: 16.
          Final results: Yes: 811 (35%), No: 1507 (65%).
          Total votes cast: 2318.
          Read related article
        • US, India, and International:: Should doctors be disciplined for overprescribing antibiotics?
          Yes: 933 (56%)
          No: 738 (44%)
          Total votes cast: 1671
          Read related article
        • UK: Should all NHS premises provide free access to wi-fi?
          Yes: 71 (63%)
          No: 41 (37%)
          Total votes cast: 112
          Read related article
        • US, India, and International: Should subsidies granted to food producers be withdrawn in order to reduce sugar consumption?
          Yes: 327 (80%)
          No: 84 (20%)
          Total votes cast: 411
          Read related blog
        • UK, US, India, and International: Should doctors be forced to disclose payments and hospitality from drug companies?
          Yes: 769 (85%)
          No: 136 (15%)
          Total votes cast: 905
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, and International: Could a sugar tax help combat obesity?
          Yes: 345 (64%)
          No: 197 (36%)
          Total votes cast: 542
          Read related article
        • UK: Should women be able to get antibiotics for urinary tract infection without a prescription?
          Yes: 76 (43%)
          No: 101 (57%)
          Total votes cast: 177
          Read related article
        • International, India, and US: Should researchers have access to medical records?
          Yes: 708 (72%)
          No: 273 (28%)
          Total votes cast: 981
          Read related article
        • UK, International, US, and India: Should doctors recommend homeopathy?
          Yes: 3 193 (62%)
          No: 1 944 (38%)
          Total votes cast: 5 137
          Read related article
        • UK, International, US, and India: Which paper should The BMJ be most proud of publishing?
          Establishing a standard definition for child obesity: 70 (12.03%)
          Multiple imputation for missing data in epidemiological and clinical research: 62 (10.65%)
          The scandal of poor medical research: 253 (43.47%)
          Evidence based guidelines or collectively constructed “mindlines?: 91 (15.64%)
          Zinc supplementation started during diarrhoea on morbidity and mortality in Bangladeshi children: 57 (9.79%)
          What worries parents when their preschool children are acutely ill: 49 (8.42%)
          Total votes cast: 582
          Read related article
        • UK, International, US, and India: Should Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation divest from fossil fuel companies?
          Yes: 276 (74%)
          No: 96 (26%)
          Total votes cast: 372
          Read related article
        • UK: Is informed consent impossible at the end of life?
          Yes: 38 (42%)
          No: 53 (58%)
          Total votes cast: 91
          Read related blog
        • International, US, and India: Should doctors in Australia boycott working in its immigration centres?
          Yes: 173 (44%)
          No: 217 (56%)
          Total votes cast: 390
          Read related article
        • International, US, and India: Should knee surgery for middle aged and older patients be stopped?
          Yes: 134 (26%)
          No: 374 (74%)
          Total votes cast: 508
          Read related article
        • UK: Should migrants be charged for access to health services?
          Yes: 63 (49%)
          No: 66 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 129
          Read related article
        • India: Is ayurveda medicine the key to universal healthcare in India?
          Yes: 6 (17%)
          No: 30 (83%)
          Total votes cast: 36
          Read related article
        • US: Should the FDA approve "female Viagra" flibanserin?
          Yes: 6 (26%)
          No: 17 (74%)
          Total votes cast: 23
          Read related article
        • International: Is a self rated health score that predicts the risk of death in the next five years of any practical use to patients?
          Yes: 152 (43%)
          No: 34 (57%)
          Total votes cast: 382
          Read related article
        • UK: Should UK and overseas-trained doctors have to sit the same test to be admitted to the medical register?
          Yes: 166 (82%)
          No: 216 (18%)
          Total votes cast: 186
          Read related article
        • UK: Who was the best UK health secretary?
          Jeremy Hunt: 5 (4%)
          Andrew Lansley: 1 (1%)
          Andy Burnham: 9 (7%)
          Alan Johnson: 19 (14%)
          Patricia Hewitt: 3 (2%)
          John Reid: 3 (2%)
          Alan Milburn: 17 (12%)
          Frank Dobson: 51 (37%)
          Stephen Dorrell: 6 (4%)
          Virginia Bottomley: 4 (3%)
          William Waldegrave: 3 (2%)
          Ken Clarke: 17 (12%)
          Total votes cast: 138
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        • US: Has the "conflict of interest movement" gone too far?
          Yes: 44 (41%)
          No: 63 (59%)
          Total votes cast: 107
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        • UK: Should the UK adopt an opt out system of organ donation?
          Yes: 134 (67%)
          No: 66 (33%)
          Total votes cast: 200
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        • International: Should cancer screening policies prioritise increasing participation or informing the public?
          Increasing participation: 12 (27%)
          Informing the public: 33 (73%)
          Total votes cast: 45
          Read related article
        • US: Is the approval bar too low for cancer drugs?
          Yes: 42 (67%)
          No: 21 (33%)
          Total votes cast: 63
          Read related article
        • India: Will new Indian growth charts help stem the rise in childhood obesity?
          Yes: 2 (40%)
          No: 3(60%)
          Total votes cast: 5
          Read related article
        • UK: What should the new UK health secretary's top priority be?
          Mental health: 27 (19.15%)
          NHS finance: 48 (34.04%)
          Cancer: 7 (4.96%)
          Waiting times: 6 (4.26%)
          Workforce: 44 (31.21%)
          Other: 9 (6.38%)
          Total votes cast: 141
          Read related article
        • UK: In whose hands is the NHS in England safest?
          Conservatives: 50 (25%)
          Labour: 106 (53%)
          Liberal Democrats: 15 (8%)
          UKIP: 8 (4%)
          Total votes cast: 199
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, and International: Can healthy people benefit from health apps?
          Yes: 108 (72%)
          No: 43 (28%)
          Total votes cast: 151
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, and International: Does hospital car parking affect patient care?
          Yes: 250 (88%)
          No: 34 (12%)
          Total votes cast: 284
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, and International: Should doctors be allowed to prescribe cheaper drugs such as Avastin 'off-label' when there is evidence of sufficient quality, efficacy, and safety?
          Yes: 284 (90%)
          No: 32 (10%)
          Total votes cast: 316
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, and International: Should authors be allowed to pay for fast track peer review of their paper?
          Yes: 37 (14%)
          No: 220 (86%)
          Total votes cast: 257
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, and International: Will drug makers' refusal to supply medicines for lethal injections lead to less humane forms of capital punishment?
          Yes: 75 (52%)
          No: 70 (48%)
          Total votes cast: 145
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, and International: Is it feasible to tell patients all the risks associated with a procedure or treatment?
          Yes: 88 (31%)
          No: 196 (61%)
          Total votes cast: 284
          Read related article
        • UK: Is it the role of GPs to identify people at risk of cold homes?
          Yes: 30 (14%)
          No: 181 (86%)
          Total votes cast: 211
          Read related article
        • US, India, and International: Have you ever feared criminal prosecution after the death of a patient?
          Yes: 32 (39%)
          No: 51 (61%)
          Total votes cast: 83
          Read related article
        • UK: Should local authorities have direct control of health and social care budgets?
          Yes: 38 (35%)
          No: 70 (65%)
          Total votes cast: 108
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, and International: Is a smoking ban in parks and outdoor spaces a good idea?
          Yes: 386 (69%)
          No: 173 (31%)
          Total votes cast: 559
          Read related article
        • UK: Can you take party politics out of the NHS?
          Yes: 46 (35%)
          No: 87 (65%)
          Total votes cast: 133
          Read related article
        • US, India, and International: Would giving patients access to test results lead to worry and confusion?
          Yes: 75 (55%)
          No: 61 (45%)
          Total votes cast: 136
          Read related article
        • UK US, India, and International: Should industry funding of nutrition research be banned?
          Yes: 126 (55%)
          No: 102 (45%)
          Total votes cast: 228
          Read related article
        • UK: Is the NHS your top UK general election issue
          Yes: 120 (65%)
          No: 64 (35%)
          Total votes cast: 184
          Read related article
        • US, India, and International: Should cost-effectiveness be the main driver for decision making on new vaccines?
          Yes: 24 (33%)
          No: 48 (67%)
          Total votes cast: 72
          Read related article
        • UK: Is Lord Saatchi's medical innovation bill a "quack's charter" that will threaten patient safety?
          Yes: 119 (84%)
          No: 23 (16%)
          Total votes cast: 142
          Read related article
        • US, India, and International: Is it ever acceptable for doctors to swear at work?
          Yes: 106 (49%)
          No: 110 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 216
          Read related article
        • UK:Can private providers be trusted to run NHS hospitals after Hinchingbrooke?
          Yes: 31 (17%)
          No: 147 (83%)
          Total votes cast: 178
          Read related article
        • US, India, and International: Is widespread screening for hepatitis C justified?
          Yes: 56 (45%)
          No: 69 (55%)
          Total votes cast: 125
          Read related article
        • UK: Should school rugby be made safer?
          Yes: 92 (72%)
          No: 35 (28%)
          Total votes cast: 127
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India, International :Should doctors encourage patients to record their consultations?
          Yes: 96 (37%)
          No: 189 (65%)
          Total votes cast: 285
          Read related article

        Polls in 2014

        • UK: Which BMJ Confidential "pet hate" do you most share?
          Daily Mail: 162 (45%)
          Pomposity: 48 (13%)
          Privatisation: 42 (12%)
          Pomposity: 48 (13%)
          Toffs in power: 34 (9%)
          Misogyny: 33 (9%)
          Greed: 26 (7%)
          Jargon: 17 (5%)
          Total votes cast: 362
          Read related article
        • US and International: Are some diets "mass murder"?
          Yes: 133 (74%)
          No: 46 (26%)
          Total votes cast: 179
          Read related article
        • India: Should sterilization camps be discontinued?
          Yes: 35 (56%)
          No: 27 (44%)
          Total votes cast: 62
          Read related article
        • UK: Should Scotland's reduced drink drive limit apply to the rest of the UK?
          Yes: 196 (78%)
          No: 54 (22%)
          Total votes cast: 250
          Read related article
        • US and International: Do you write prescriptions for yourself?
          Yes: 155 (64%)
          No: 89 (36%)
          Total votes cast: 244
          Read related article
        • UK: How would the extra £2bn for the NHS be best spent?
          Primary care: 83 (37%)
          Secondary care: 25 (11%)
          Social care: 31 (14%)
          Mental health 84 (38%)
          Total votes cast: 223
          Read related article
        • UK, US, and International: Should advertisements for e-cigarettes be shown on TV?
          Yes: 54 (11%)
          No: 429 (89%)
          Total votes cast:483
          Read related article
        • India: Can mobile phone reminders to patients improve treatment adherence?
          Yes: 23 (85%)
          No: 4 (15%)
          Total votes cast: 27
          Read related article
        • UK, US, and International: Is measuring wellbeing a waste of time?
          Yes: 100 (39%)
          No: 156 (61%)
          Total votes cast: 256
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India and International: Can overweight doctors give credible lifestyle advice to their patients?
          Yes: 184 (37%)
          No: 313 (63%)
          Total votes cast: 497
          Read related article
        • UK, US, India and International: Should doctors encourage patients facing adversity to show a stiff upper lip?
          No: 126 (57%)
          Yes: 96 (43%)
          Total votes cast: 222
          Read related article
        • UK: Is it ethical to pay GPs £55 for each new dementia diagnosis?
          No: 280 (88%)
          Yes: 40 (12%)
          Total votes cast: 320
          Read related article
        • US, India, and International: Is mass flu vaccination a waste of time?
          Yes: 81 (44%)
          No: 103 (56%)
          Total votes cast: 184
          Read related article
        • UK: Has the crisis in general practice in Britain been overstated?
          Yes: 31 (13%)
          No: 209 (87%)
          Total votes cast: 240
          Read related article
        • India and International: Should medical schools teach sleep medicine?
          Yes: 72 (80%)
          No: 18 (20%)
          Total votes cast: 90
          Read related article
        • US: Should all US adults aged 45 or older should be screened for abnormal blood sugar concentrations?
          Yes: 30 (77%)
          No: 9 (23%)
          Total votes cast: 39
          Read related article
        • UK: Is the UK adopting a proportionate response to the Ebola outbreak?
          Yes: 55 (35%)
          No: 103 (65%)
          Total votes cast: 158
          Read related article
        • US, India and International: Should doctors be subject to random drug tests?
          Yes: 110 (49%)
          No: 116 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 226
          Read related article
        • UK: Is the private sector a good thing for the NHS?
          Yes: 75 (30%)
          No: 173 (70%)
          Total votes cast: 248
          Read related article
        • UK: Is seven day access to GPs in England a good use of NHS resources?
          Yes: 78 (28%)
          No: 204 (78%)
          Total votes cast: 282
          Read related article
        • UK, US, and international: Should we take patients in cardiac arrest to hospital?
          Yes: 171 (78%)
          No: 48 (22%)
          Total votes cast: 219
          Read related article
        • India: Can India deliver on a pledge to cut neonatal mortality to 21 per 1000 live births by 2020?
          Yes: 1 (92%)
          No: 1 (8%)
          Total votes cast: 12
          Read related article
        • India: Is it ethical to hire sherpas when climbing Mount Everest?
          Yes: 9 (47%)
          No: 10 (53%)
          Total votes cast: 19
          Read related article
        • UK, US, and international: Should mammography screening be offered to women over 70?
          Yes: 88 (43%)
          No: 116 (57%)
          Total votes cast: 204
          Read related article
        • UK, US, and international: Should surgeon specific mortality data be publicly available?
          Yes: 138 (48%)
          No: 149 (52%)
          Total votes cast: 287
          Read related article
        • UK, US, and international: Should patients be able to email their doctor?
          Yes: 215 (47%)
          No: 246 (53%)
          Total votes cast: 461
          Read related article
        • UK and international: Should universities offer part time undergraduate degrees in medicine?
          Yes: 188 (39%)
          No: 295 (61%)
          Total votes cast: 483
          Read related article
        • US: Should US aid include abortion services for women raped in war zones?
          Yes: 52 (90%)
          No: 6 (10%)
          Total votes cast: 58
          Read related article
        • India: Should patients with Ebola have the chance to try experimental drugs?
          Yes: 335 (94%)
          No: 21 (6%)
          Total votes cast: 356
          Read related article
        • UK: Should GPs prescribe statins for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease?
          Yes: 55 (47%)
          No: 62 (53%)
          Total votes cast: 117
          Read related article
        • US: Should execution on death row by lethal injection be abolished?
          Yes: 26 (62%)
          No: 16 (38%)
          Total votes cast: 117
          Read related article
        • UK and international: Should boys be vaccinated against HPV as well as girls?
          Yes: 275 (86%)
          No: 35 (14%)
          Total votes cast: 321
          Read related article
        • India: Can India build an extra 5.2m toilets by the end of August 2014?
          Yes: 6 (37%)
          No: 8 (53%)
          Total votes cast: 14
          Read related article
        • UK:Should all UK emergency departments include GP staff?
          Yes: 221 (78%)
          No: 63 (22%)
          Total votes cast: 152
          Read related article
        • US and International: Is pre-diabetes overdiagnosis? Yes: 89 (59%)
          No: 63 (41%)
          Total votes cast: 231
          Read related article
        • UK: Should doctors be required to record financial conflicts of interest on the GMC register?
          Yes: 164 (71%)
          No: 67 (29%)
          Total votes cast: 231
          Read related article
        • US and International: Should research fraud be a crime?
          Yes: 168 (89%)
          No: 21 (11%)
          Total votes cast: 189
          Read related article
        • India: Have you received kickbacks for referrals in your practice?
          Yes: 9 (16%)
          No: 49 (85%)
          Total votes cast: 58
          Read related article
        • Should GPs take on a greater role in safeguarding children?
          Yes: 78 (49.68%)
          No: 79 (50.32%)
          Total votes cast: 157
          Read related article
        • Could you easily halve sugar intake to 5% of your daily calories?
          Yes: 258 (54%)
          No: 216 (46%)
          Total votes cast: 474
          Read related article
        • Will a website that allows patients to view the performance of individual hospitals improve patient safety? Yes: 292 (49%)
          No: 303 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 595
          Read related article
        • Should e-cigarettes be more tightly regulated? Yes: 143 (70%)
          No: 76 (30%)
          Total votes cast: 237
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        • Is evidence based medicine broken? Yes: 346 (51%)
          No: 336 (49%)
          Total votes cast: 682
          Read related article
        • Should alcohol companies be banned from sponsoring international sporting tournaments? Yes: 702 (73%)
          No: 264 (27%)
          Total votes cast: 966
          Read related article
        • Will ultrasound scanners replace the stethoscope?
          Yes: 228 (30%)
          No: 544 (70%)
          Total votes cast: 772
          Read related article
        • US: Can regulatory approaches to cannabis use reduce health and social harms more effectively than prohibition?
          Yes: 413 (71%)
          No: 172 (29%)
          Total votes cast: 584
          Read related article
        • Should smokers be advised to cut down as well as quit?
          Yes 843 (89%)
          No 102 (11%)
          Total votes cast: 945
          Read related article
        • US: Is there such a thing as humane capital punishment?
          Yes: 134 (48%)
          No: 147 (52%)
          Total votes cast: 281
          Read related article
        • Should the NHS in England fund abortions for women from Northern Ireland?
          Yes 549 (63%)
          No 322 (37%)
          Total votes cast: 871
          Read related article
        • Is there such a thing as humane capital punishment?
          Yes 256 (30%)
          No 588 (70%)
          Total votes cast: 844
          Read related article
        • India: Do more doctors need to join politics to improve healthcare in India?
          Yes 133 (76%)
          No 41 (24%)
          Total votes cast: 174
          Read related article
        • Should women athletes with naturally high testosterone levels be banned from competing unless they have surgical or pharmaceutical interventions to lower them?
          Yes 150 (21%)
          No 588 (79%)
          Total votes cast: 708
          Read related article
        • US: Should doctors be taught to consider treatment costs of part of their medical training?
          Yes 201 (81%)
          No 47 (19%)
          Total votes cast: 248
          Read related article
        • Should doctors be taught to consider treatment costs of part of their medical training?
          Yes 921 (79%)
          No 240 (21%)
          Total votes cast: 1161
          Read related article
        • Have the online health insurance exchanges been a success?
          Yes 144 (50%)
          No 144 (50%)
          Total votes cast: 288
          Read related article
        • Should people be paid to live healthier lives?
          Yes 385 (23%)
          No 1256 (77%)
          Total votes cast: 1641
          Read related article
        • Is India doing enough to address post-polio syndrome?
          Yes 16 (42%)
          No 22 (58%)
          Total votes cast: 38
          Read related article
        • Should medical students be taught alternative medicine?
          Yes 636 (47%)
          No 727 (53%)
          Total votes cast: 1363
          Read related article
        • India: Which party would most improve healthcare in India?
          Indian National Congress 55 (11%)
          Bharatiya Janata Party 193 (39%)
          Aam Aadmi Party 117 (24%)
          None of the above 128 (26%)
          Total votes cast: 493
          Read related article
        • US: Should patients have the right to record consultations?
          Yes 299 (79%)
          No 81 (21%)
          Total votes cast: 380
          Read related article
        • Has cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis been oversold?
          Yes 412 (49%)
          No 434 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 846
          Read related article
        • Is GSK's move to employ doctors as medical educators more transparent than paying external speakers?
          Yes 225 (53%)
          No 198 (47%)
          Total votes cast: 423
          Read related article
        • Should patients have the right to record consultations?
          Yes: 645 (62%)
          No: 391 (38%)
          Total votes cast: 1036
          Read related article
        • US: Is there room for spirituality in the consulting room?
          Yes: 68 (64%)
          No 38 (36%)
          Total votes cast: 106
          Read related article
        • Should statins be extended to people at low risk of cardiovascular disease?
          Yes: 229 (23%)
          No: 757 (77%)
          Total votes cast: 986
          Read related article
        • Should medical journals publish sponsored content?
          Yes 244 (32%)
          No 521 (68%)
          Total votes cast: 765
          Read related head to head
        • India: Should homeopaths be allowed to practise allopathic medicine?
          Yes: 21 (8%)
          No: 242 (92%)
          Total votes cast: 263
          Read related article
        • Should consultations in primary care be held standing up?
          Yes: 131 (18%)
          No: 586 (82%)
          Total votes cast: 717
          Read related article
        • US: How can we prevent mobile phone use while driving?
          Educate people about the dangers: 92 (22%)
          Public service announcements: 18 (4%)
          Increase legislation: 80 (20%)
          Use technology to block mobile phone use while driving: 221 (54%)
          Total votes cast: 411
          Read related editorial
        • Do national databases of patient information threaten privacy?
          Yes: 473 (61%)
          No: 297 (39%)
          Total votes cast: 770
          Read related blog post
        • Have you witnessed institutional racism in your hospital or practice?
          Yes: 309 (43%)
          No: 409 (57%)
          Total votes cast: 718
          Read related article
        • US: Would you be comfortable declaring your competing interests on a central database?
          Yes: 83 (80%)
          No: 21 (20%)
          Total votes cast: 104
          Read related article
        • India: Should medical school graduates in India have to spend a year in a rural post before they can start postgraduate training?
          Yes: 133 (54%)
          No: 115 (46%)
          Total votes cast: 248
          Read related article
        • Are we overusing IVF?
          Yes: 326 (61%)
          No:207 (39%)
          Total votes cast: 533
          Read related article
        • Would you be comfortable declaring your competing interests on a central database?
          Yes: 417 (81%)
          No:98 (19%)
          Total votes cast: 515
          Read related article
        • US: Should employers be given exemptions from employee contraception coverage?
          Yes: 303 (58%)
          No: 223 (42%)
          Total votes cast: 526
          Read related news story
        • Should medical journals stop publishing research funded by the drug industry?
          Yes: 786 (55%)
          No: 631 (45%)
          Total votes cast: 1417
          Read related head to head
        • India: Should the Indian government fund fertility treatment for specific minority groups when so many people lack basic healthcare?
          Yes: 33 (25%)
          No: 101 (75%)
          Total votes cast: 134
          Read related feature
        • Would minimum unit pricing for alcohol save lives?
          Yes: 612 (45%)
          No: 738 (55%)
          Total votes cast: 1350
          Read related feature
        • Should other places follow New York's lead and ban e-cigarettes from public places?
          Yes: 592 (16%)
          No: 3070 (84%)
          Total votes cast: 3662
          Read related news

        Polls in 2013

        • Which chocolates have a longer survival time in your practice or on your ward?
          Quality Streets: 381 (49%)
          Roses: 262 (30%)
          Other: 228 (26%)
          Total votes cast: 871
          Read related research
        • India: Which chocolates have a longer survival time in your practice or on your ward?
          Dairy Milk: 29 (46%)
          5 Star: 20 (32%)
          Other: 14 (22%)
          Total votes cast: 63
          Read related research
        • US: Which chocolates have a longer survival time in your practice or on your ward?
          Hershey's Kisses: 55 (27%)
          Candy: 73 (36%)
          Other: 73 (36%)
          Total votes cast: 201
          Read related research
        • Should scientific fraud be a criminal offence?
          Yes: 926 (83%)
          No: 186 (17%)
          Total votes cast: 1112
          Read related blog
        • US: Should scientific fraud be a criminal offence?
          Yes: 189 (84%)
          No: 35 (16%)
          Total votes cast: 224
          Read related blog
        • India: Will the new BSc in community health improve medical care in rural India?
          Yes: 49 (45%)
          No: 61 (55%)
          Total votes cast: 110
          Read related news
        • Should hospital grounds be completely smoke free?
          Yes: 1176 (81%)
          No: 274 (19%)
          Total votes cast: 1450
          Read related news
        • US: Will the recent cholesterol guidelines result in the huge overprescribing of statins?
          Yes: 285 (81%)
          No: 67 (19%)
          Total votes cast: 352
          Read related news
        • India: Should India change to a daily drug regimen for tuberculosis?
          Yes: 131 (82%)
          No: 28 (18%)
          Total votes cast: 159
          Read related personal view
        • Should employers help employees to assess their alcohol use?
          Yes: 303 (49.92%)
          No: 304 (50.08%)
          Total votes cast: 607
          Read related personal view
        • Will making wilful neglect a criminal offence improve patient care?
          Yes: 299 (35%)
          No: 552 (65%)
          Total votes cast: 851
          Read related news article
        • US: Is the US requirement to deposit trial data within a year workable?
          Yes: 53 (57%)
          No: 40 (47%)
          Total votes cast: 93
          Read related personal view
        • India: Is India's soft drinks industry sufficiently regulated?
          Yes: 7 (5%)
          No: 125 (95%)
          Total votes cast: 132
          Read related news article
        • Should trans fats be banned?
          Yes: 670 (81%)
          No: 153 (19%)
          Total votes cast: 823
          Read related news article
        • Should athletes be allowed to use performance enhancing drugs?
          Yes: 172 (15%)
          No: 955 (85%)
          Total votes cast: 1127
          Read related head to head
        • Should patients with psychosis be paid to adhere to maintenance treatment?
          Yes: 175 (24%)
          No: 541 (76%)
          Total votes cast: 716
          Read related editorial
        • US: Can New York City continue to be a global leader in public health under a new mayor?
          Yes: 83 (47%)
          No: 94 (53%)
          Total votes cast: 177
          Read related feature
        • India: Should patients in India be routinely tested for HIV?
          Yes: 64 (60%)
          No: 42 (40%)
          Total votes cast: 106
          Read related news article
        • Have you witnessed or experienced sexual harassment by a colleague?
          Yes: 292 (30%)
          No: 669 (70%)
          Total votes cast: 961
          Read related views and reviews article
        • US: Will the Choosing Wisely initiative reduce overtreatment?
          Yes: 44 (59%)
          No: 31 (41%)
          Total votes cast: 75
          Read related feature
        • Should GP surgeries have longer opening hours?
          Yes: 696 (65%)
          No: 376 (35%)
          Total votes cast: 1072
          Read related news
        • India: Can India eliminate rabies by mass vaccination of stray dogs?
          Yes: 65 (48%)
          No: 70 (52%)
          Total votes cast: 135
          Read related feature
        • Should e-cigarettes be regulated as medicines?
          Yes: 416 (22%)
          No: 1441 (78%)
          Total votes cast: 1857
          Read related news
        • Should we bring in universal mental health checks in schools?
          Yes: 427 (53%)
          No: 375 (47%)
          Total votes cast: 802
          Read related personal view
        • India: Should India roll out HPV vaccination nationally?
          Yes: 68 (63%)
          No: 39 (37%)
          Total votes cast: 107
          Read related editor's choice
        • US: Should it be compulsory for healthcare workers to be vaccinated against flu?
          Yes: 297 (63%)
          No: 172 (37%)
          Total votes cast: 469
          Read related news
        • Should hospitals offer all patients single rooms?
          Yes: 456 (43%)
          No: 604 (57%)
          Total votes cast: 1060
          Read related head to head
        • Should it be compulsory for healthcare workers to be vaccinated against flu?
          Yes: 515 (49%)
          No: 526 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 1041
          Read related news article
        • Would older people benefit from having a named general practitioner?
          Yes: 625 (87%)
          No: 96 (13%)
          Total votes cast: 721
          Read related news article
        • US: Should the FDA regulate mobile medical apps?
          Yes: 67 (45%)
          No: 83 (55%)
          Total votes cast: 150
          Read related head to head debate
        • India: Do anti-tobacco messages in films and broadcasts deter would-be tobacco users?
          Yes: 32 (45%)
          No: 39 (55%)
          Total votes cast: 71
          Read related observations article
        • Do risks outweigh benefits in thrombolysis for stroke?
          Yes: 329 (54%)
          No: 283 (46%)
          Total votes cast: 612
          Read related head to head
        • Would learning to code be a good use of doctors' time?
          Yes: 374 (39%)
          No: 597 (61%)
          Total votes cast: 971
          Read related feature
        • US: Is learning to code a good use of doctors' time?
          Yes: 60 (41%)
          No: 86 (59%)
          Total votes cast: 146
          Read related feature
        • India: Would learning to code be a good use of doctors' time?
          Yes: 18 (53%)
          No: 16 (47%)
          Total votes cast: 34
          Read related feature
        • US: Should low risk lesions not be called cancer?
          Yes: 47 (47%)
          No: 54 (53%)
          Total votes cast: 101
          Read related news
        • India: Is bariatric surgery the answer to India's growing obesity and diabetes problems?
          Yes: 21 (12.5%)
          No: 147 (87.5%)
          Total votes cast: 168
          Read related feature
        • Does the wording of consent forms deter patients from signing up for clinical trials?
          Yes: 210 (73%)
          No: 78 (27%)
          Total votes cast: 288
          Read related feature
        • Do you find patient information leaflets a useful resource in your day to day clinical practice?
          Yes: 324 (70%)
          No: 140 (30%)
          Total votes cast: 464
          Read related feature
        • US: Should payment models for US physicians be driven by outcomes?
          Yes: 94 (49%)
          No: 99 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 531
          Read related feature
        • Should Europe have a universal hepatitis B vaccination programme?
          Yes: 439 (83%)
          No: 92 (17%)
          Total votes cast: 531
          Read related head to head debate here
        • Is the UK government right to scrap the Liverpool Care Pathway?
          Yes: 165 (23%)
          No: 538 (77%)
          Total votes cast: 703
          Read related head to head debate here
        • India: Is the UK government right to scrap the Liverpool Care Pathway?
          Yes: 2 (50%)
          No: 2 (50%)
          Total votes cast: 4
          Read related head to head debate here
        • Does adding routine antibiotics to animal feed pose a serious risk to human health?
          Yes: 589 (90%)
          No: 65 (10%)
          Total votes cast: 654
          Read related head to head debate here
        • US: Does adding routine antibiotics to animal feed pose a serious risk to human health?
          Yes: 105 (95%)
          No: 6 (5%)
          Total votes cast: 111
          Read related head to head debate here
        • India: Does adding routine antibiotics to animal feed pose a serious risk to human health?
          Yes: 31 (100%)
          No: 0 (0%)
          Total votes cast: 31
          Read related head to head debate here
        • Are clinical trial data shared sufficiently today?
          Yes: 44 (9%)
          No: 429 (91%)
          Total votes cast: 473
          Read related head to head debate here and here
        • US: Are clinical trial data shared sufficiently today?
          Yes: 7 (12%)
          No: 50 (88%)
          Total votes cast: 57
          Read related head to head debate here and here
        • India: Are clinical trial data shared sufficiently today?
          Yes: 1 (8%)
          No: 12 (92%)
          Total votes cast: 13
          Read related head to head debate here and here
        • Are hospitals justified in refusing to hire smokers?
          Yes: 436 (46%)
          No: 515 (54%)
          Total votes cast: 951
          Read related article
        • US: Are hospitals justified in refusing to hire smokers?
          Yes: 59 (44%)
          No: 74 (56%)
          Total votes cast: 133
          Read related article
        • India: Are hospitals justified in refusing to hire smokers?
          Yes: 24 (77%)
          No: 7 (23%)
          Total votes cast: 31
          Read related article
        • Should patients with dementia who wander be electronically tagged
          Yes: 574 (76%)
          No: 178 (24%)
          Total votes cast: 752
          Read related head to head debate here and here
        • US: Should electronic cigarettes be as freely available as tobacco cigarettes?
          Yes: 618 (90%)
          No: 69 (10%)
          Total votes cast: 687
          Read related head to head debate here and here
        • India: Should electronic cigarettes be as freely available as tobacco cigarettes?
          Yes: 37 (69%)
          No: 17 (31%)
          Total votes cast: 54
          Read related head to head debate here and here
        • Should electronic cigarettes be as freely available as tobacco cigarettes?
          Yes: 1716 (86%)
          No: 282 (14%)
          Total votes cast: 1998
          Read related head to head debate here and here
        • Will access to individual surgeon's performance data improve patient care?
          Yes: 313 (49%)
          No: 329 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 642
          Read related news
        • US: Do calorie counts on restaurant menus influence your food choices?
          Yes: 232 (71%)
          No: 95 (29%)
          Total votes cast: 327
          Read related research
        • India: Should medical abortion be easier for Indian women to access?
          Yes: 57 (77%)
          No: 17 (23%)
          Total votes cast: 74
          Read related feature
        • Is clinical examination dead?
          Yes: 127 (16%)
          No: 680 (84%)
          Total votes cast: 807
          Read related news
        • India: Should sportspeople be allowed to promote alcohol brands on their sports kit?
          Yes: 8 (10%)
          No: 74 (90%)
          Total votes cast: 82
          Read related news
        • US: Have the benefits of influenza vaccines been oversold?
          Yes: 128 (67%)
          No: 63 (33%)
          Total votes cast: 191
          Read related feature
        • Should we sequence everyone's genome?
          Yes: 331 (30%)
          No: 781 (70%)
          Total votes cast: 1112
          Read related head to head Yes: No.
        • Should governments introduce plain packets for cigarettes?
          Yes: 717 (72%)
          No: 285 (28%)
          Total votes cast: 1002
          Read related article
        • India: Is it ethical for doctors to take gifts from drug companies?
          Yes: 49 (25%)
          No: 147 (75%)
          Total votes cast: 196
          Read related article
        • US: Should governments introduce plain packets for cigarettes?
          Yes: 68 (54%)
          No: 59 (46%)
          Total votes cast: 127
          Read related article
        • US: Should everyone aged 15 - 64 be screened for HIV infection?
          Yes: 84 (63%)
          No: 49 (37%)
          Total votes cast: 133
          Read related article
        • Should everyone aged 15 - 64 be screened for HIV infection?
          Yes: 572 (49%)
          No: 600 (51%)
          Total votes cast: 1172
          Read related article
        • Should the legal age for buying tobacco be raised to 21?
          Yes: 848 (80%)
          No: 216 (20%)
          Total votes cast: 1064
          Read related article
        • US: Should the legal age for buying tobacco be raised to 21?
          Yes: 137 (71%)
          No: 57 (29%)
          Total votes cast: 194
          Read related article
        • India: Can we leave industry to lead efforts to improve population health?
          Yes: 11 (24%)
          No: 34 (76%)
          Total votes cast: 45
          Read related article
        • Do patients need to know they are terminally ill?
          Yes: 1,026 (87.5%)
          No: 146 (12.5%)
          Total votes cast: 1,172
          Read related head to head Yes:No
        • US: Should breast cancer drugs be offered to healthy but high risk women?
          Yes: 52 (36%)
          No: 94 (64%)
          Total votes cast: 146
          Read related article
        • Can we leave industry to lead efforts to improve population health?
          Yes: 72 (11%)
          No: 594 (89%)
          Total votes cast: 666
          Read related article
        • US: Will the sequester change your practice?
          Yes: 31 (42%)
          No: 43 (58%)
          Total votes cast: 74
          Read related article
        • India: Will the Indian Supreme Court's dismissal of Novartis' petition for patent protection discourage companies from investing in new drugs?
          Yes: 29 (21%)
          No: 111 (79%)
          Total votes cast: 140
          Read related article
        • Should drug companies publish the names of doctors to whom they make donations?
          Yes: 999 (89%)
          No: 129 (11%)
          Total votes cast: 1,128
          Read related article
        • Should GPs on the boards of clinical commissioning groups in England stand down if they have conflicts of interest?
          Yes: 612 (87%)
          No: 91 (13%)
          Total votes cast: 703
          Read related article
        • US: Will the new DSM-5 lead to patients being mislabelled as mentally ill?
          Yes: 85 (83%)
          No: 17 (17%)
          Total votes cast: 102
          Read related article
        • India: Are the dangers of antibiotic resistance exaggerated?
          Yes: 30 (38%)
          No: 49 (62%)
          Total votes cast: 79
          Read related article
        • Will 1 April mark the end of the NHS in England?
          Yes: 493 (58%)
          No: 363 (42%)
          Total votes cast: 761
          Read related head to head article
        • US: Should fee-for-service be abolished for physician pay?
          Yes: 195 (58%)
          No: 144 (42%)
          Total votes cast: 339
          Read related feature
        • Is it acceptable for people to take cognitive enhancing drugs to improve performance?
          Yes: 326 (43%)
          No: 435 (57%)
          Total votes cast: 761
          Read related news story
        • India: Should AYUSH doctors be allowed to prescribe allopathic drugs?
          Yes: 47% (103)
          No: 53% (114)
          Total votes cast: 217
          Read related blog
        • Are the dangers of antibiotic resistance exaggerated?
          Yes: 19% (216)
          No: 81% (909)
          Total votes cast: 1,125
          Read related news story
        • Should GPs be fined for rises in avoidable emergency admissions?
          Yes: 35% (300)
          No: 65% (558)
          Total votes cast: 858
          Read related head to head Yes:No
        • US: Should gun ownership be documented in electronic patient records?
          Yes: 42% (189)
          No: 58% (264)
          Total votes cast: 453
          Read related feature
        • Should the NHS work at weekends as it does in the week?
          Yes: 64.2% (820)
          No: 35.8% (458)
          Total votes cast: 1,278
          Read related head to head article No: Yes
        • India: Is security in Indian hospitals adequate to protect doctors from attacks from aggrieved relatives?
          Yes: 10.3% (27)
          No: 89.7% (236)
          Total votes cast: 263
          Read related news story
        • Should David Nicholson resign in the wake of the Mid Staffs inquiry report?
          Yes: 88% (651)
          No: 12% (85)
          Total votes cast: 736
          Read related article
        • Is a focus on risk in psychiatry an effective way of reducing harm to patients and the public?
          Yes: 62% (206)
          No: 38% (125)
          Total votes cast: 331
          Read related article
        • US: Is it right that doctors should publish all industry payments over $10?
          Yes: 68% (155)
          No: 32% (72)
          Total votes cast: 227
          Read related article
        • Will the Francis report lead to improvements in patient care?
          Yes: 43% (204)
          No: 57% (274)
          Total votes cast: 478
          Read related articles
        • Would you encourage your patients to have prostate specific antigen testing?
          Yes: 46% (442)
          No: 54% (519)
          Total votes cast: 961
          Read related clinical review article
        • Are acute hospitals the place for the frail and older people?
          Yes: 16% (132 )
          No: 84% (697)
          Total votes cast: 829
          Read related news article
        • Should free speech be more important than pharma regulation?
          Yes: 60.7% (51)
          No: 39.3% (33)
          Total votes cast: 84
          Read related feature
        • Are antidepressants overprescribed?
          Yes: 79.3% (862)
          No: 20.7% (226)
          Total votes cast: 1088
          Read related head to head Yes:No
        • Will expansion of the NHS abroad benefit UK patients
          Yes: 32% (139)
          No: 68% (229)
          Total votes cast: 438
          Read related head to head Yes:No
        • Is chemical castration an appropriate punishment for rape?
          Yes: 56% (67)
          No: 44% (52)
          Total votes cast: 119
          Read related news story
        • Should everyone over 74 be screened for dementia?
          Yes: 45.3% (665)
          No: 54.7% (802)
          Total votes cast: 1,467
          Read related Observations article
        • Polls in 2012

        • What is more important to you—the taste of food or how healthy it is?
          Taste: 58.5% (954)
          Health: 41.5% (678)
          Total votes cast: 1632
          Read related Christmas research article
        • Do you believe that non-coeliac gluten sensitivity exists?
          Yes: 66.5% (626)
          No: 33.5% (315)
          Total votes cast: 941
          Read related practice article
        • Is it ethical to donate second hand implantable devices to the developing world?
          Yes: 62.6% (518)
          No: 37.4% (309)
          Total votes cast: 827
          Read related blog
        • Is there value in conducting periodic health checks?
          Yes: 63.5% (415)
          No: 36.5% (238)
          Total votes cast: 653
          Read related research paper
        • In view of increasing antimicrobial resistance worldwide, have you changed your prescribing practice for antibiotics?
          Yes: 77.7% (352)
          No: 22.3% (101)
          Total votes cast: 453
          Read related news story
        • India: Should the UK withdraw aid to India?
          Yes: 37.5% (24)
          No: 62.5% (40)
          Total votes cast: 64
          Read related news story
        • Is the Liverpool care pathway fit for purpose?
          Yes: 73% (467)
          No: 27% (173)
          Total votes cast: 640
          Read related news story
        • Should all cosmetic surgery advertising be banned?
          Yes: 64% (558)
          No: 36% (331)
          Total votes cast: 919
          Read related head to head debate
        • Is it unethical to donate used cardioverter defibrillators to patients in India?
          Yes: 19% (194)
          No: 81% (834)
          Total votes cast: 1028
          Read related news story
        • Who is mainly at fault for denying access to negative clinical trial results?
          Pharma: 395 (69%)
          Regulators: 77 (13.5%)
          Legislators: 50 (9%)
          Ethics committees: 35 (6%)
          Universities: 14 (2.5%)
          Total votes cast: 569
          Read related news story
        • Will calorie counts on vending machines reduce consumption of unhealthy foods?
          Yes: 50.23%
          No: 49.77%
          Total votes cast: 1099
          Read related news story
        • Is overtreatment an inevitable consequence of market based healthcare systems?
          Yes: 83%
          No: 17%
          Total votes cast: 878
          Read related feature
        • Would a "tan tax" on indoor tanning salons be an appropriate deterrent?
          Yes: 55%
          No: 45%
          Total votes cast: 664
          Read related personal view
        • Does celebrity involvement in public health campaigns deliver long term benefit?
          Yes: 46.5%
          No: 53.5%
          Total votes cast: 535
          Read related head to head debate Yes and No
        • Is doctors' professional use of social media likely to result in more good than harm?
          Yes: 57%
          No: 43%
          Total votes cast: 516
          Read related news
        • Are the causes of obesity mainly environmental?
          Yes: 68%
          No: 32%
          Total votes cast: 885
          Read related head to head debate Yes and No
        • Should altruistic kidney donors be able to choose the recipient of their kidney?
          Yes: 48.5%
          No: 51.5%
          Total votes cast: 633
          Read related news
        • Do abstinence programmes have a role in the treatment of heroin addiction?
          Yes: 79%
          No: 21%
          Total votes cast: 315
          Read related personal view
        • Should doctors allow families to veto organ donation requested by their dead relatives?
          Yes: 18.5%
          No: 81.5%
          Total votes cast: 1,570
          Read related personal view
        • Has the current economic downturn adversely affected the health of your patients?
          Yes: 80%
          No: 20%
          Total votes cast: 348
          Read related observations column
        • Should patients be able to control their own records?
          Yes: 58%
          No: 42%
          Total votes cast: 667
          Read related news story
        • Is their any point in measuring people's feelings of well-being?
          Yes: 75%
          No: 25%
          Total votes cast: 586
          Read related news story
        • Is fanaticism a form of madness?
          Yes: 50.9%
          No: 49.1%.
          Total votes cast: 668
          Read related head to head debate Yes and No and blog
        • Should we screen for type 2 diabetes?
          Yes: 83%
          No: 17%.
          Total votes cast: 700
          Read related head to head debate Yes and No
        • Does having a medical parent help or hinder?
          Help: 79%
          Hinder: 29%.
          Total votes cast: 465
          Read related personal view
        • Will the Olympics increase young people's participation in sport?
          Yes: 447 (49.9%)
          No: 449 (50.1%)
          Read related editorial
        • Should doctor's organisations be neutral on assisted dying?
          Yes: 1,137 (17%)
          No: 5,455 (83%)
          Read related editorial
        • Should we abandon cervical spine manipulation for mechanical neck pain?
          Yes: 284 (24%)
          No: 876 (76%)
          Read related head to head debate Yes and No
        • Should addicts have their benefits cut if they refuse treatment?
          Yes: 806 (65%)
          No: 425 (35%)
          Read related news
        • Should all adults over 50 get statins?
          Yes: 189 (21%)
          No: 704 (79%)
          Read related research news
        • Should child immunisation be mandatory?
          Yes: 813 (37%)
          No: 1366 (63%)
          Read related head to head debate Yes and No
        • Are doctors justified in taking industrial action in defence of their pensions?
          Yes: 514 (65%)
          No: 271 (35%)
          Read related head to head debate Yes and No
        • Should ophthalmologists be encouraged to use bevacizumab to treat age related macular degeneration?
          Yes: 257 (75%)
          No: 85 (25%)
          Read related feature
        • What is the most important change to medical education in the past 20 years?
          Debt? 22% (131 votes)
          Competition to get into medical school? 16% (93 votes)
          Competition for training posts? 14% (82 votes)
          Workforce planning? 9% (53 votes)
          Teaching methods and resources? 40% (238 votes)
        • Is spending on proton beam therapy going too far too fast?
          Yes: 143 (56%)
          No: 112 (44%)
          Read related feature
        • Should doctors have a stronger voice in policy on illegal drug use?
          Yes: 984 (83%)
          No: 198 (17%)
          Read related news story
        • Will minimum alcohol pricing reduce problem drinking?
          Yes: 258 (33%)
          No: 527 (67%)
          Read related news story
        • Should health professionals take a leading role in tackling climate change?
          Yes: 325 (45%)
          No: 394 (55%)
          Read related spotlight article
        • Should Tony Nicklinson, who has locked in syndrome, get medical help to end his life?
          Yes: 748 (37%)
          No: 1285 (63%)
          Read related news
        • Should everyone over 65 be screened for atrial fibrillation?
          Yes: 498 (61%)
          No: 312 (39%)
          Read related news
        • Does psychoanalysis have a place in modern mental health?
          Yes: 575 (63%)
          No: 342 (37%)
          Read related head to head debate Yes;No.
        • Should journals allow peer review only after publication?
          Yes: 26% (118)
          No: 74% (344)
          Read related blog.
        • Should we use elective ventilation to increase organ donation?
          Yes: 66% (313)
          No: 34% (163)
          Read related news.
        • Is providing hospital services seven days a week worth the extra cost?
          Yes: 77% (759)
          No: 23% (223)
          Read related news story.
        • Should the Health and Social Care Bill for England now be withdrawn?
          Yes: 92% (2710)
          No: 8% (241)
          Read related comment article.
        • Does anyone understand why we need the government's plans for the NHS?
          Yes: 20% (154)
          No: 80% (607)
          Read related comment article.
        • Should public funds pay when private healthcare goes wrong?
          Yes: 18% (190)
          No: 82% (865)
          Read related editorial.
        • Should doctors be able to self prescribe?
          Yes: 65% (1052)
          No: 35% (562)
          Read related BMJ careers story.
        • Should governments be allowed to censor research because of biosecurity fears?
          Yes: 252 (42%)
          No: 344 (58%)
          Read related news story.

        Polls in 2011

        • Do you think that Charles Byrne's skeleton should...
          a) now be buried at sea? 453 (53%)
          b) be taken off display and stored in private for research purposes? 117 (14%)
          c) remain where it is on public display? 281 (33%)
          Read related feature.
        • Should we treat lower urinary tract symptoms without a definitive diagnosis?
          Yes: 513 (57%)
          No: 382 (43%)
          Read related head to head debate Yes;No.
        • Should the drug industry be given anonymised patient data?
          Yes: 432 (48%)
          No: 469 (52%)
          Read related news story.
        • Should women be able to request a caesarean section?
          Yes: 694 (46%)
          No: 809 (54%)
          Read related head to head debate Yes;No.
        • Has the closure of psychiatric beds gone too far?
          Yes: 539 (85%)
          No: 92 (15%)
          Read related head to head debate Yes;No.
        • Should doctors encourage people to donate a kidney to a stranger?
          Yes: 420 (36%)
          No: 740 (64%)
          Read related head to head debate No;Yes.
        • Do we need to curb population growth to improve global health?
          Yes: 1,105 (77%)
          No: 334 (23%)
          Read related personal view.
        • Should journals sell reprints?
          Yes: 78 (41%)
          No: 110 (59%)
          Read related head to head debate: Yes;No.
        • Should we use total mortality rather than cancer specific mortality to judge cancer screening programmes?
          Yes: 122 (53%)
          No: 110 (47%)
          Read related head to head debate: Yes, No.
        • Should patients be allowed to spend their personal health budgets on non evidence-based treatments, such as aromatherapy?
          Yes: 235 (40%)
          No: 352 (60%)
          Read the related feature
        • Should GP practices be visited without warning to assess quality of care?
          Yes: 343 (81%)
          No: 80 (19%)
          Read the related blog
        • Does the evidence support the use of mild hypothermia after cardiac arrest?
          Yes: 106 (73%)
          No: 40 (27%)
          Read related head to head debate:Yes/No
        • Should we regulate the food industry or work with it to tackle NCDs?
          Regulate it: 87 (74%)
          Work with it: 30 (26%)
          Read the related articles
        • Should countries introduce minimum alcohol pricing?
          Yes: 162 (61%)
          No: 105 (39%)
          Read related news story
        • Should publicly funded research bodies be allowed to withhold research data from industry?
          Yes: 111 (45%)
          No: 133 (55%)
          Read related blog and news story
        • Should families of drug users be provided with naloxone?
          Yes: 170 (66%)
          No: 87 (34%)
          Read related news story
        • Is the WHO irrelevant?
          Yes: 171 (33%)
          No: 349 (67%)
          Read related feature
        • Should the FDA loosen its conflict of interest rules for advisers?
          Yes: 40 (22%)
          No: 144 (78%)
          Read related news story
        • Should postgraduate membership exams No: longer be held overseas?
          No: 128 (53%)
          Yes: 115 (47%)
          Read related head to head (Yes; No)
        • Does the use of medical titles by non-doctors mislead patients?
          Yes: 444 (83%)
          No: 89 (17%)
          Read related personal view
        • Should it be compulsory for adult cyclists to wear helmets?
          Yes: 462 (32%)
          No: 978 (68%)
          Read related news story
        • Are open data a good thing?
          Yes: 143 (82%)
          No: 31 (18%)
          Read related observations column
        • Is there evidence that competition in healthcare is a good thing?
          No: 276 (73%)
          Yes: 101 (27%)
          Read related head to head debate
        • Should the Health and Social Care Bill now be withdrawn?
          Yes: 1027 (93%)
          No: 74 (7%)
          Read related editorial
        • Does knowledge of arts and culture make doctors better clinicians?
          Yes: 346 (80%)
          No: 88 (20%)
          Read related personal view
        • Should HIV tests be offered to all patients attending emergency departments?
          Yes: 280 (67%)
          No: 135 (33%)
          Read related news story
        • "Are digital rectal examinations performed in primary care a waste of time?"
          No: 278 (65%)
          Yes: 153 (35%)
          Read related personal view
        • Should non-medical health professionals be the first port of call for patients with back pain?
          Yes: 111 (39%)
          No: 173 (61%)
          Read related personal view
        • Has child protection become a form of madness?
          Yes: 181 (66%)
          No: 93 (34%)
          Read related head to head debate
        • Do you feel confident in discussing dying and death with patients?
          Yes: 162 (66%)
          No: 85 (34%)
          Read related personal view
        • Is the peer review system in crisis?
          Yes: 97 (60%)
          No: 65 (40%)
          Read related news story
        • Should the UN appoint a representative to investigate violations of medical neutrality in countries like Bahrain?
          Yes: 164 (81%)
          No: 39 (19%)
          Read related editorial
        • Should the law on assisted dying be changed?
          Yes: 203 (31%)
          No: 462 (69%)
          Read related head to head debate
        • Is nudge an effective public health strategy to tackle obesity?
          Yes: 61 (34%)
          No: 117 (66%)
          Read related head to head
        • Do most patients want shared decision making?
          Yes: 144 (72%)
          No: 55 (28%)
          Listen to related podcast
        • Should helmets be compulsory for skiers and snowboarders?
          Yes: 343 (65%)
          No: 183 (35%)
          Read related editorial
        • Should the opportunity to sit in on surgery be auctioned to the highest bidder?
          No: 277 (86%)
          Yes: 44 (14%)
          Read related personal view
        • Compared with now, do you think healthcare in England in five years' time will be: Much better, better, the same, worse, or much worse?
          Much better 49 (4%)
          Better 132 (11%)
          Same 154 (13%)
          Worse 428 (36%)
          Much worse 420 (36%)
          Read all the latest news and comment on the BMJ's NHS reforms microsite
        • Have we gone too far in translating ideas from aviation to patient safety?
          Yes: 99 (51%)
          No: 95 (49%)
          Read related head to head debate
        • Is NHS Employers justified in trying to impose a freeze on incremental pay progression for NHS staff?
          Yes: 89 (22%)
          No: 313 (78%)
        • Should children aged 5 years or younger be included in the flu vaccination programme?
          Yes: 420 (49%)
          No: 440 (51%)

        Polls in 2010

        • Is it ever justified to submit a hoax abstract to an international meeting?
          Yes: 253 (35%)
          No: 473 (65%)
          Read related article
        • Should a paper supporting Seroxat use in adolescents be retracted?
          Yes: 87 (65%)
          No: 47 (35%)
          Read related feature
        • Should health systems stop supporting low volume units?
          No: 156 (64%)
          Yes: 87 (36%)
          Read related news story
        • Is the UK coalition government turning the clock back on advances in public health?
          Yes: 211 (78%)
          No: 59 (22%)
          Read related feature
        • Should the law on orphan drugs be changed?
          Yes: 112 (77%)
          No: 33 (23%)
          Read related feature
        • Should rationing of drugs be done by individual doctors or by a national body?
          National body: 322 (70%)
          Individual doctors: 137 (30%)
          Read related Q&A briefing
        • Does choice matter more to politicians and patient advocates than it does to patients?
          Yes: 220 (66%)
          No: 113 (34%)
          Read related analysis
        • Are the cuts fair?
          No: 146 (62%)
          Yes: 90 (38%)
          Read related head to head
        • Should drug misusers be paid to be sterilised?
          No: 314 (68%)
          Yes: 145 (32%)
          Read related news story
        • Would a tax on high fat/sugar foods help reduce obesity levels?
          Yes: 258 (50.5%)
          No: 253 (49.5%)
          Read related observations column
        • Should NHS mental health services fear the private sector?
          Yes: 117 (62%)
          No: 72 (38%)
          Read related head to head debate
        • Should all athletes have ECG screening?
          Yes: 236 (71.5%)
          No: 94 (28.5%)
          Read related head to head debate
        • Have targeted cancer drugs met expectations?
          No: 92 (75.4%)
          Yes: 30 (24.6%)
        • How confident are you that key proposals of the NHS white paper for England will take effect?
          100%: 28 (9.59%)
          75%: 43 (14.73%)
          50%: 75 (25.68%)
          25%: 93 (31.85%)
          0%: 53 (18.15%)
        • Should doctors regulate themselves?
          Yes: 198 (57%)
          No: 151 (43%)
        • Should people with dementia be allowed to vote?
          Yes: 208 (52%)
          No: 194 (48%)
          Read related editorial
        • Should egg and sperm donors be paid more to reduce shortages in IVF clinics?
          Yes: 124 (44%)
          No: 159 (56%)
          Read related news story
        • Should ending mixed sex wards be a government priority?
          Yes: 108 (34%)
          No: 210 (66%)
          Read the related news story
        • Should the role of GPs in maternity care be strengthened?
          Yes: 146 (65%)
          No: 80 (35%)
          Read related news story
        • Have you ever taken modafinil, methylphenidate, and atomoxetine to boost your cognitive performance?
          No: 363 (91%)
          Yes: 38 (9%)
          Read related editorial
        • Should rosiglitazone be withdrawn?
          Yes: 149 (80%)
          No: 38 (20%)
          Read related news story
        • Will GP commissioning improve patient care?
          No: 269 (73.7%)
          Yes: 96 (26.3%)
          Read related news story
        • How often do you notice bias in industry sponsored educational materials?
          Often: 97 (70.8%)
          Sometimes: 31 (22.6%)
          Never: 9 (6.6%)
        • Should locum agencies be regulated?
          Yes: 169 (91%)
          No: 17 (9%)
          Read related feature
        • Is offering unemployment advice part of a family doctor's remit?
          No: 175 (71%)
          Yes: 72 (29%)
          Read related editorial
        • Should the Quality and Outcomes Framework be abolished?
          Yes: 38 (47%)
          No: 43 (53%)
          Read related head to head
        • Is reforming the tax system the best way to address the income inequalities that underlie health inequalities?
          Yes: 95 (64%)
          No: 54 (36%)
          Read related observations column
        • Should health policy focus on physical inactivity rather than obesity?
          Yes: 318 (83%)
          No: 65 (17%)
          Read related head to head
        • Is homophobia fuelling Africa's HIV epidemic?
          Yes: 184 (53%)
          No: 162 (47%)
          See related feature
        • Is the coalition's health policy going to be good for the NHS?
          Yes: 62 (52%)
          No: 58 (48%)
          See related news story
        • Should the world follow Australia and introduce plain packets for cigarettes?
          Yes: 247 (70%)
          No: 105 (30%)
          See the related personal view
        • Should medical students be regulated?
          Yes: 456 (67%)
          No: 225 (33%)
          See related head to head debate
        • Can the NHS cut costs without substantially damaging the quality of healthcare?
          Yes: 152 (48%)
          No: 165 (52%)
          See related Kings Fund debate page
        • Should researchers make the raw data from their studies available to anyone who asks for them?
          Yes: 488 (74%)
          No: 179 (26%)
          Read related observations article
        • Is the NHS three times better than in 1979?
          No: 166 (60%)
          Yes: 113 (41%)
          Read related observations article
        • Which of these situations worry you most in your career? (Total number of votes=326)
          1. When it's in the public interest to breach patient confidentiality: 136 votes
          2. Breaking bad news and advance care planning: 94 votes
          3. Appropriate off label prescribing: 35 votes
          4. Maximising people's ability to consent to research involvement: 31 votes
          5. Talking to patients about CPR and a DNACPR order: 30 votes
        • Should primary care physicians refuse to see the worried well?
          Yes: 87 (22%)
          No: 310 (78%)
          Read doc2doc discussion
        • Will a market deliver quality and efficiency in health care better than central planning ever could?
          Yes: 72 (34%)
          No: 142 (66%)
          Read related head to head debate
        • Will the new assisted suicide policy change your practice?
          Yes: 49 (28%)
          No: 123 (72%)
          Read related news story 
        • Should homoeopathy be available on the NHS?
          Yes: 2208 (19%)
          No: 8730 (81%)
          Read related news story.
        • Has guideline development gone astray?
          Yes: 138 (72.6%)
          No: 52 (27.4%)
          Read related head to head debate

        Polls in 2009

        • Which of these songs would you use for CPR training? (Total votes=1764)    
          - Bee Gees - Staying alive: 635 votes (36%)
          - Mandy Miller - Nellie the elephant: 351 votes (20%)
          - Queen - Another one bites the dust: 317 votes (18%)          
          - Other*: 119 votes(7%)          
          - The Whispers - And the beat goes on: 107 votes (6% )
          - KC & The Sunshine Band - That's the way I like it: 95 votes (5%) 
          - The Backstreet Boys - Quit playing games (with my heart): 72 votes  (4%)
          - Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart: 68 votes (4%)

          *Includes: Theme from the Archers,  Ave Maria or the Faure Requiem, Anarchy in the UK, Baa baa black sheep, London Bridge, Michael Jackson - Billie Jean, Guns'n'Roses - Knocking on heaven's door
          Read related research article.

        • Would you publicly confess to a serious mistake if you thought others could learn from your experience?
          Yes: 325 (76%)
          No: 104 (24%)
          Read related news story.
        • Is the conflict of interest unacceptable when drug companies conduct trials on their own drugs?
          Yes: 400 (75%)
          No: 133 (25%)
          Related head to head
        • Should the NHS strive to eradicate all unexplained variation in practice?
          No: 181 (65%)
          Yes: 96 (35%)
          Related head to head
        • Do you need a degree to nurse?
          Yes: 308 (39%)
          No: 477 (61%)
          Related forum on doc2doc
        • Do restrictions on working hours of doctors compromise surgical education?
          Yes: 279 (69%)
          No: 123 (31%)
          Related analysis
        • Was home secretary Alan Johnson justified in sacking his drugs adviser David Nutt?
          Yes: 156 (18%)
          No: 728 (82%)
          Related news story
        • Is ageism a common problem in the NHS?
          Yes: 207 (78%)
          No: 57 (22%)
          Related news story
        • Will you take the swine flu vaccine?
          Yes: 446 (42%)
          No: 612 (58%)
          Related news story
        • Are women doctors still discriminated against?
          Yes: 320 (55%)
          No: 261 (45%)
          Related news story
        • Do gyms have responsibilities for people with eating disorders?
          Yes: 186 (39%)
          No: 296 (61%)
          Related news story
        • Should doctors treating patients with genetic diseases be allowed to disclose information to blood relatives at risk?
          Yes: 315 (69%)
          No: 142 (31%)
          Related news story
        • Should under 5s be allowed to touch animals at petting farms?
          Votes: Yes: 473 (82%);
          No: 106 (18%)
          Related news story
        • Is population stabilisation crucial to tackling climate change?
          Votes: Yes: 277 (79%);
          No: 72 (21%)
          Related editorial
        • Should all alcohol advertising be banned?
          Votes: Yes: 456 (70%);
          No: 191 (30%)
          Related editorial
        • Should youth mental health become a speciality in its own right?
          Votes: Yes: 243 (72%);
          No: 94 (28%)
          Related head to head
        • Is rate more important than rhythm in treating atrial fibrillation?
          Votes: Yes: 345 (75%);
          No: 114 (25%)
          Related head to head
        • Does Helicobacter pylori really cause duodenal ulcers?
          Votes: Yes: 425 (83%);
          No: 89 (17%)
          Related head to head
        • Should antivirals be given to young people with mild symptoms of A/H1N1?
          Votes: Yes: 65 (14%);
          No: 390 (86%)
          Related research
        • Do not-for-profit nursing homes provide better quality?
          Votes: Yes: 109 (66%);
          No: 57 (34%)
          Related research
        • Should we stop screening women under 25 for cervical cancer?
          Votes: Yes: 156 (35%);
          No: 287 (65%)
          Related research
        • Do you feel equipped to manage patients with swine flu?
          Votes: Yes: 112 (46%);
          No: 131 (54%)
          Related editorial
        • Is systolic blood pressure all that matters?
          Votes: Yes: 89 (17%);
          No: 434 (83%)
          Related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Have you changed your behaviour as a consequence of swine flu? (July 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 149 (25%);
          No: 457 (75%)
          Related research
        • Would you recommend to your patients, family, or friends to attend breast screening? (July 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 293 (85%);
          No: 53 (15%)
          Related observation
        • Is it acceptable for people to take methylphenidate to enhance performance? (June 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 100 (27%);
          No: 264 (73%)
          Related head to head debate; Yes; No
        • Is medicine failing male patients? (June 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 119 (53%);
          No: 104 (47%)
          Related personal view
        • Does English libel law threaten scientific debate in health care? (June 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 92 (80%);
          No: 23 (20%)
          Related editorial
        • Would you blow the whistle if you saw a senior colleague repeatedly making mistakes? (June 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 471 (87%); No: 71 (13%)
          Related editorial
        • Should blood pressure lowering drugs be offered to all people over a certain age? (May 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 132 (33%); No: 272 (67%)
          Related research and editorial
        • Should hospices be exempt from following national cardiopulmonary resuscitation guidelines? (March 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 272 (60%); No: 180 (40%)
          Related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Should people at risk of reinfarction have defibrillators available at home?(March 2009) 
          Votes: Yes: 39 (49%); No: 40 (51%)
          Related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Will doctor rating sites improve standards of care? (March 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 26 (30%); No: 60 (70%)
          Related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Should all patients be offered online access to their medical records? (March 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 106 (65%); No: 57 (35%)
          Related podcast and blog
        • Should men who have ever had sex with men be banned from giving blood? February 2009.
          Votes: No: 300 (55%); Yes: 244 (45%)
          Read related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Who should receive the BMJ Group award for lifetime achievement?  (February 2009)
          The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony on 2 April.
        • Doctors and the drug industry: what's in the best interests of patients and the public?  (February 2009)
          1. Tighter standards of conduct: 103 votes (42%)
          2. No: relationship: 60 votes (25%)
          3. Less but better regulation: 38 votes (16%)
          4. Closer working: 30 votes (12%)
          5. No: change:    12 votes (5%)

          Read related articles

        • Will the WHO's surgical safety checklist change practice?  (January 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 138 (66%); No: 71 (34%)
          Read related editorial
        • Have NHS targets such as minimum waiting times done more harm than good? (January 2009)
          Votes: Yes: (%); No: (%)
          Read related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Should doctors work beyond 70? (January 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 484 (40%); No: 726 (60%)
          Read related news story

        Polls in 2008

        • Should drug companies teach therapeutics to medical undergraduates? (January 2009)
          Votes: Yes: 155 (22%); No: 560 (78%)
          Read related news feature.
        • Should the contraceptive pill be available without prescription? (December 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 660 (54%); No: 568 (46%)
          Read related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Should smoking in outside public spaces be banned? (December 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 416 (58%); No: 307 (42%)
          Reead related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Should doctors encourage patients to make decisions about their future care in case incapacity strikes? (December 2008) Votes: Yes 465 (87%); No: 67 (13%)
        • Would you advise a friend or relative to become a doctor? (December 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 461 (52%); No: 420 (48%)
          Read related personal view.
        • Will financial penalties improve control of hospital acquired infections? (November 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 119 (42%); No: 164 (58%)         
          Read related analysis.
        • Should restaurant menus include nutrition labelling information? (November 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 480 (69%); No: 217 (31%)
          Read related feature and listen to related podcast.
        • Should world leaders be obliged to make their health records public? (November 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 211 (34%); No: 416 (66%)  
          Read related personal view.
        • Should immunisation be mandatory for healthcare workers (Novermber 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 493 (62%); No: 302 (38%)
          Related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Which presidential candidate has better plans for US health reform? (October 2008)
          Votes: Barack Obama 877 (85%); John McCain 160 (15%)
          Read related feature.
        • Should developed countries become net exporters of health professionals? (October 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 217 (59%); No: 150 (41%)
          Read related editorial and features (International action on migration of health workers, Fighting the brain drain)
        • Should doctors lead on rationing decisions? (October 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 155 (62%); No: 93 (38%)
          Read related editorial, feature, and analysis (Clinical priority setting, Accountability for reasonableness, Moving forward on rationing)
        • Does NICE deserve its bad press? (October 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 166 votes (41%); No: 236 (59%)
          Read related observations article
        • Should there be a ceiling on what percentage of GDP countries spend on health? (September 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 101 (34%); No: 199 (66%)
          Read related head to head debate: Yes; No.
        • Should medical records remain confidential after a patient's death? (September 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 431 (69%); No: 195 (31%)
          Read related news.
        • Is early intervention in the major psychiatric disorders justified? (September 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 303 (85%); No: 52 (15%)
          Related head to head debate: Yes; No.
        • Should primary care be nurse led? (September 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 323 (30%); No: 737 (70%)
          Related head to head debate: Yes; No.
        • Are national qualifying examinations a fair way to rank medical students?
          (August 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 434 (53%); No: 389 (47%)
          Related head to head debate: Yes; No
        • Should the UK instigate universal childhood immunisation against the varicella zoster virus (responsible for chickenpox and shingles)? (August 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 291 (63%) ; No: 171 (37%)
          Read related editorial.
        • Should the NHS fund drugs that have not yet been approved by NICE?
          (August 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 264 (43%); No: 354 (57%)
          Read related news.
        • Should failed asylum seekers be denied free primary care?
          (July 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 289 (36%); No: 518 (64%)
          Read related personal view.
        • Should doctors advise people to limit the number of children they have for the sake of the environment?
          Votes: Yes: 513 (46%); No: 609 (54%)
          Read related editor's choice.
        • Has the UK's four hour emergency care target compromised patient safety? (July 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 172 (72%); No: 67 (28%)
        • Should disadvantaged people be paid to take care of their health?
          Votes: Yes: 183 (34%); No: 363 (66%)
        • Should geriatric medicine remain a specialty? (July 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 587 (80%); No: 146 (20%)
        • Are international medical conferences an outdated luxury the planet can’t afford?
          (July 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 471 (59%); No: 324 (41%)
        • Are the NHS's founding principles still relevant in 21st century Britain?
          (June 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 496 (70%); No: 215 (30%)
        • Should patients be fined if they miss appointments? (June 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 299 (51%); No: 292 (49%)
        • Should all healthcare interventions be rigorously tested before their introduction?(June 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 392 (78%); No: 111 (22%)
        • Is it feasible for GPs to put all 40-75 year olds on statins based on cardiovascular risk, ethnicity, and family history? (June 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 416 (44%); No: 522 (56%)
        • Were MPs right to allow the creation of "admixed" human and animal embryos for research in the United Kingdom? (May 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 271 (36%); No: 480 (64%)
        • Would you share the answers to exam questions if you were exclusively told them in advance? (May 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 57 (58%); No: 42 (42%)
        • Should hypertension be treated aggressively even in very old patients? (May 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 362 (49%); No: 374 (51%)
        • Should patients be able to pay top-up fees for treatments not funded by the NHS? (May 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 375 (71%); No: 151 (29%)
        • Does it matter if medical graduates don't get jobs as doctors? (May 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 1025 (81%); No: 246 (19%)
        • Do we need polyclinics? (April 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 361 (66%); No: 188 (34%)
        • Should we screen for abdominal aortic aneurysm? (April 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 333 (66%); No: 175 (34%)
        • Which health project would make the greatest difference to health care? (April 2008)
          • Palliative care for all at the end of life: 1552 votes (38%)
          • Combating drug resistant infections in poor countries: 879 votes (22%)
          • Better care for the elderly with multiple health problems: 686 votes (17%) Improving chronic pain management: 487 (12%)
          • Reducing excessive drinking in young women: 331 votes (8%)
          • Helping to reduce adverse drug reactions in elderly patients: 111 votes (3%)

        • Are there too many female medical graduates? (April 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 454 (44%); No: 568 (56%)
        • Should pharmaceutical companies enjoy greater legal freedoms to provide prescription drug information directly to the public? (March 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 220 (20%); No: 870 (80%)
        • Should responsibility for signing people off sick be transferred from GPs to occupational health teams? (March 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 419 (56%); No: 326 (44%)
        • Should all doctors have a legal obligation to offer assistance in an inflight medical
          emergency? (March 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 458 (53%); No: 408 (47%)
        • Should doctors change their practice in prescribing antidepressants in the light of last month's research? (March 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 876 (71%); No: 355 (29%)
        • Has the hunt for conflicts of interests gone too far? (February 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 197 (45%); No: 246 (56%)
        • Do you object to continuing medical education being funded by the pharmaceutical industry? (February 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 853 (55%); No: 669 (45%)
        • Should doctors advocate snus and other nicotine replacements? (February 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 195 (61%); No: 124 (39%)
        • Is it time to stop using the term "sudden infant death syndrome"? (February 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 584 (60%); No: 381 (40%)
        • Is the obesity epidemic exaggerated? (February 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 987 (73%); No: 371 (27%)
        • Is climate change a matter for doctors? (January 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 805 (69%); No: 363 (31%)
        • Should the Tooke report on postgraduate medical education and training be implemented in full? (January 2008)
          Votes: Yes: 429 (74%); No: 153 (26%)