BMJ  2008;336:280 (2 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39475.465926.59

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Beware of expensive imitations

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

Research has established that expensive wine tastes better—even if in fact it is the same wine. I suspect that when you pay a high price for something, and despite evidence to the contrary, you genuinely believe it to be better. This is true of many "luxury" items like gaudy Italian fashion, whose gold buckles and epaulets are found loose in the washing machine. This effect is also true of health care.

I manage to maintain my smile but my feet curl in painful spasm with the attitudes towards our socialised health care from some of our newest economic migrants. Their looks of consternation at the paracetamol for a cold, the huff at the lack of investigation, goggle-eyed head spinning at having to wait to see a specialist, and door slamming "I will go to casualty" when told a specialist consultation is not appropriate. Where I expected stoicism, instead I found . . . [Full text of this article]

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