Current Medical Issues

**jay-mob** · 30-11-2005, 05:51 PM

Hey guy's and gal's hows going, well i am too lazy to browse each newspaper and stuff so i wanted to make a page where everybody can write some current medical issues (with opinion if you have any) so they can prepare it for the interview and so everybody knows whats happening in the medical world.

the only thing which i know of:

Bird Flu in Britain (obvious however important, my opinion britain reacted to late with the caging of birds, however people have different opinions).

Not enough Flu vaccines( same opinion as above)

Waiting list on NHS and death among patients due to wrong diagnosis.

HIV and generally all sexual transmitted diseases are rapidly spreading.

if you have anything else go for it

**allahuakbar3** · 30-11-2005, 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by jay-mob

Waiting list on NHS and death among patients due to wrong diagnosis.

HIV and generally all sexual transmitted diseases are rapidly spreading.

if you have anything else go for it

It seems that u r the 1 whose gna help me out here,um can u please tell me more abt the wrong diagnosis thingy(wow does that actually happen?)and the spread of HIV ( I mean that's always been an issue, any thing new im missin out?! )
thnks a bunch.
PS
*I remembered some thing about the statin drug and the argument that should doctors give it to patients with the RISK of coronary heart disease and pay for the cost or wait for the patient to have the disease first then give statin to them.
*the thing abt uk being ready for a pandemic
Hope that helps...

**jay-mob** · 30-11-2005, 06:45 PM

Yeah it does happen indeed up here in scotland for example we had a case some months ago where a girl died she said she felt some pain and the only prescription she received was paracetamol after three days she died i dont remember the whole story but the doctor was sued i still dont know the outcome yet however such things happen for sure. I need to get some more infor about that case i will keep you informed. I can't find the link yet though.

Yeah The HIV has reached its peak in the last decade i will send you more infro from the wiki page look under Epidemiology or the direct link of aids pandemic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aids
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIDS_pandemic.

I hope that helps for the time being.

**Virus_Tamer** · 30-11-2005, 10:39 PM

As far as Flu vaccines are concerned, we ran out because people were asking for human influenza vaccine thinking it would protect them from H5N1 (avian flu), which it wouldn't. It's been said that GPs have been irresponsibly dishing out vaccine to those who don't need it (i.e. those with immune systems strong enough to shake it off should they catch it).

There are also some who say that Tamiflu will be completely useless anyway if H5N1 mutates to a form which can be spread from human to human. Others say that we're ignoring the real threat and that a different strain of avian flu, H7N7, could cause the real pandemic.

As for HIV, it used to be thought of only as a disease of homosexuals, because it spreads most readily through homosexual intercourse. However, the majority of new cases are now caught through heterosexual intercourse, and there are roughly 30,000 sufferers of HIV in the UK, and about 30-40 million worldwide I think.

Just my 2 pennyworth..

**rachelm** · 30-11-2005, 11:34 PM

Just noticed this about face transplants, which may or may not count but it might be something to talk about: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4484728.stm

**rachelm** · 30-11-2005, 11:35 PM

Originally Posted by jay-mob

I hope that helps for the time being.

Today's handy hint: use [url] not [html] tags for URLs so people can click on 'em (though if you just paste in the URL you don't really need to do either).

**charliedavis** · 01-12-2005, 01:45 AM

hey, tried to post earlier but didn't work...........

A few ideas:

Access to unlicenced anti-cancer drugs is in the media a lot at the mo where certain PCTs are giving the go ahead to use.......bit of a postcode lottery.

Which disease areas should be included in GMS contracts? Certain diseases are not included such as osteoporosis (although under review) so the GPs do not get points for the treatment of this area. Does this mean that it could be overlooked compared to diseases such as hypertension, diabetes etc that score highly.

Confidence in using mostly new/newish drugs where some side effects are unknown eg Viox and heart attacks

Just trying to do anything instead of revising for anatomy!

**Nanzay** · 01-12-2005, 01:48 AM

I have my Glasgow interview tomorrow - any tips? Oh dear, reading what everyone else said doesn't really make me feel that much better

- I'm really dreading what they'll ask me! I've heard that they're nasty at Glasgow, but everyone else seems to disagree here!

**NorthernLight** · 01-12-2005, 05:31 AM

Just a word of caution - if you talk about bird flu, make sure you know what it is, where it is and how dangerous (or not) it is. People aren't going to be impressed by a tabloid inspired answer about how we're all about to die... That says you've seen a headline rather than you've taken an interest in a current medical issue.

Also, be careful talking about wrong diagnoses.... again, you'll see headlines about it but it can be more complicated than it looks. Doctors make mistakes (who doesn't?) but whether it would count as a current medical issue? It's not a new thing... and it might lead them into asking you to explain what you would do if you made a mistake and it might just turn into a chat you really don't want to have!

If it were me, I'd talk about the recent case of a patient demanding Herceptin from her PCT and being refused.... or the issue of Flu vaccine running out - again, depending on who you listen to this could be anyone's fault, from govt. to GP's to patients....! But it seems unlikely that GP's would be giving it out without thinking, and much as it is always nice to blame the govt. they don;t actually order flu vaccines, it's left to individual GP practices..... part of the problem is the time it takes to make the vaccine (about 6 months I think?) so Gp's order it in the Spring, and so if everyone suddenly wants their dose in November having not bothered asking for it before, the numbers might just not add up...

**jay-mob** · 01-12-2005, 05:42 AM

Just a word of caution - if you talk about bird flu, make sure you know what it is, where it is and how dangerous (or not) it is. People aren't going to be impressed by a tabloid inspired answer about how we're all about to die... That says you've seen a headline rather than you've taken an interest in a current medical issue. .....

Sorry i have to disagree i dont read tabloids.