BMJ should notify doctors whose practice is criticised in interactive case reports

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7487.364

BMJ 2005;330:364 (12 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7487.364

Letter

BMJ should notify doctors whose practice is criticised in interactive case reports

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—The BMJ recently published an interactive casereport from a general practitioner about a patient with itchingand gall stones.^1
2 Readers were invited to comment on the caseusing the rapid response feature on bmj.com, and three weekslater the outcome and summary of the responses were published.³

From the responses posted from three continents the interactivecase report was educational and can be judged to have been successful.Naming the patient and giving the general practitioner's addressessentially identified the hospital responsible. But we, thehospital clinicians involved in the secondary care of the patient,were neither consulted nor informed that the case was to bepublished. Is this fair or wise?

Some of the comments addressed the diagnosis. Well and good.Some respondents criticised the advice given by one of us tothe general practitioner. The patient received a diagnosis andtreatment within 17 days of . . . [Full text of this article]

John Hunt, consultant gastroenterologist

john.hunt@bromleyhospitals.nhs.uk

Maxwell Asante, consultant gastroenterologist, Shamsi El Hasani, consultant surgeon

Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust, Princess Royal University Hospital, Farnborough Common, Orpington, Kent BR6 8ND