Published 2 October 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a1923
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a1923

Editor's Choice

A plea for broader perspectives on health

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

Many factors influence health and are influenced by it. What does this mean for how we decide which interventions to invest in? In an editorial this week (doi:10.1136/bmj.a1204), Michael Drummond and colleagues say we must do what the textbooks tell us: consider all costs and benefits, no matter whether it’s the health service or other sectors that pick up the bill.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence gives "mixed messages" on this at the moment, says the editorial. When it appraises drugs and procedures, NICE takes the narrow health service view. When it appraises public health interventions it looks at the impact on employment, education, crime. (As an aside, NICE itself gets a mixed appraisal from Nigel Hawkes (doi:10.1136/bmj.a1906). He concludes that at least some of the media’s recent nastiness is down to NICE’s failure to engage critical clinicians, its refusal to offer up . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    StumbleUpon    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Articles

Why is the press so nasty to NICE?

Nigel Hawkes
BMJ 2008 337: a1906. [Extract] [Full Text]

The emperor’s new constitution

Iona Heath
BMJ 2008 337: a1857. [Extract] [Full Text]

Economic evaluation of health interventions

Michael Drummond, Helen Weatherly, and Brian Ferguson
BMJ 2008 337: a1204. [Extract] [Full Text]

What happened to the polypill?

Geoff Watts
BMJ 2008 337: a1822. [Extract] [Full Text]

Will screening individuals at high risk of cardiovascular events deliver large benefits? Yes

Rod Jackson, Sue Wells, and Anthony Rodgers
BMJ 2008 337: a1371. [Extract] [Full Text]

Will screening individuals at high risk of cardiovascular events deliver large benefits? No

Simon Capewell
BMJ 2008 337: a1395. [Extract] [Full Text]

A strategy to reduce cardiovascular disease by more than 80%

N J Wald and M R Law
BMJ 2003 326: 1419. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

How broad is the broad enough perspective?

BM Hegde
bmj.com, 3 Oct 2008 [Full text]

"Health Is Not Merely The Absence of Disease......"

Andrew Mimnagh
bmj.com, 6 Oct 2008 [Full text]

Haiku for WHO*

Hugh Mann
bmj.com, 8 Oct 2008 [Full text]

Online poll

Find out more here>> and here>>