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The article discusses the views of doctors, health economists, and policy advisers with regards to the Health and Social Care Act in Great Britain and whether or not it is good for public health and measures to evaluate the impact. One view is that one will be unable able to determine the impact of any healthcare reforms for at least a few years. Another view is that the challenge in evaluating the impact of health reforms is relating the decisions and actions taken by governments to the performance of the health system. A third viewpoint is that transfer of public health to local authorities brings opportunities for a more integrated approach to improving people's health.

The article focuses on research which indicates that the use of computed tomography in medicine may be linked to up to 2% of all cancers in the United States. A discussion of research which has evaluated the benefits and disadvantages which are associated with the increased use of computed tomography in the country is presented. A discussion of a report on the safety of computed tomography screening is presented, which the U.S. Department of Health requested from the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment.

The article reports that Vietnam has made significant progress in the fight against tuberculosis (TB).

This section offers medicine-related news briefs as of March 2016. Topics covered include the question raised by Royal College of Physicians president Jane Dacre on the unfilled consultant posts to meet demands in patient care, the protest held by junior doctors in response to the government's handling of its dispute with the profession and the conduct of a study of women infected with the Zika virus in the first trimester of pregnancy.

The article presents questions and answers related to Zika virus infection as the World Health Organization declared the virus a global public health emergency.

The article reports on the success of the song "A Bridge Over You" by the British National Health Service (NHS) Choir which hit the top of the British charts in December 25, 2015. Topics covered include the surprise smash success of the song which outsold pop music superstar Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself" by 30,000 copies and the songs blending of Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and Coldplay's "Fix You."

The article reports that the National Health Service (NHS) in Great Britain failed to take advantage of many opportunities to monitor or screen pregnant women who have stillbirths based on a review of cases. Concerns mentioned include the identification of risk factors and screening for gestational diabetes, the identification of fetal growth restriction and the response to reduce fetal movements. The review found that two thirds of women with diabetes risk were not offered testing.

The article reports on record decline in mortality among patients undergoing elective surgery for abdominal aortic aneurysm in England and Wales based on the 2015 annual report of the National Vascular Registry. The report also found that surgery waiting times across Great Britain were highly variable. One factor for improved survival is believed to be the greater use of minimally invasive endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) rather than more complex open surgery.

The article reports that Jeremy Hunt, health secretary for England, has been holding discussions with royal colleges to prepare the National Health Service for any industrial action. Topics mentioned include how far services will be disrupted, the dispute over the imposition of a non-negotiated contract, and thoughts from Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health President Neena Modi on the way the government link the contract changes to the delivery of seven-day services.

The article reports that Public Health England (PHE) has recommended ways of reducing the British public's consumption of sugar. Topics discussed include the agency's recommendation to reduce special offers and discounts on sugary foods in supermarkets and restaurants, controlling the advertising of sugary foods to children and the government imposing a tax on high sugar foods.

The article reports on the statement of the World Health Organization (WHO) that the trial of the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine against Ebola virus disease is a promising development, as none of subjects who were exposed to the disease and were immediately vaccinated, became infected.

The article focuses on a research project launched by the Newham Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to drive better health for residents in London, England. Topics covered include the study of the low birth weight of babies born in Newham, the vision of CCG chair Zuhair Zarifa to match the revitalisation of the borough's infrastructure with a better life for the local population and the work of consultant diabetologist Shanti Vijayaraghavan in assessing diabetes risk in the borough.

The article discusses a report by the National Audit Office which indicated that cancer survival in England is still lower than the European average and older and poorer patients faring worse than other groups despite some improvement in cancer services and a budget of 6.7 billion British pounds.

The article reports on an oesophagogastric cancer audit in Great Britain in 2014 which revealed the increase in the number of patients surviving surgery for oesophageal and stomach cancer.

The article reports on the latest information on electronic-cigarette use, regulation, advertising, and safety in Great Britain as of November 2014. Topics include the latest market intelligence on e-cigarettes, evidence on whether e-cigarettes help people quit smoking, and evidence that e-cigarettes are a gateway to tobacco products. Also mentioned discussed is how e-cigarettes are currently regulated. INSET: AROUND THE WORLD.

The article reports on the call by the College of Emergency Medicine and Urgent Health UK for an end to perverse incentives that penalise hospital emergency departments which host front end primary care teams in Great Britain in 2014. Topics covered include the impact of the National Health Service (NHS) tariff system on the emergency departments, the complexity of the system for recording activity in the departments and the stance of College president Clifford Mann on the issue.

The article reports that British health commissioners have defended their policies on surgery referrals after criticisms of rationing. Topics discussed include a investigative report by the Royal College of Surgeons claiming that evidence-based guidance was being ignored by the commissioners and patient care being compromised. Alsoe mentioned is the defense of the actions of clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) by Steve Kell, co-chair of National Health Service (NHS) Clinical Commissioners.

The article reports on the European Parliament's vote in favor of introducing legal measures to increase the transparency of clinical trials in Europe. Topics discussed include the goal of ensuring that treatments are based on all the evidence, the registration of all trials on a publicly accessible clinical trials register, and increasing the likelihood that licensed drugs are safer and more effective. Reactions to the law by organizations such as AllTrials and Sense About Science are cited.

The article announces teams nominated for the 2014 Innovation in Healthcare Award sponsored by the Greater Manchester Academic Health Science Network, including the Fit for Work Team's study on chronic pain, a Cardiff University team's work on bipolar education, and a Great Ormond Street Hospital team's work on safety incident reporting by families.

The article reveals that half of the patients in Great Britain get stem cells for transplant from overseas donors, according to a review carried out by British blood cancer charity and bone marrow register Anthony Noland and National Health Service (NHS) Blood and Transplant.

The article discusses the results of a study which showed that people 70 years and above who are taking antihypertensive drugs are at higher risk of fall injury. It references a research at Yale University published in the "JAMA Internal Medicine" which noted that the adjusted hazard ratios for serious fall injury were 1.40 in the moderate intensity and 1.28 in the high intensity and concluded that antihypertensive drugs are associated with an increased risk of serious fall injury.

The article highlights the efforts of clinical commissioning groups (CCG) in England in changing local health services for the better through link-ups with local government. Details of the Leicestershire Together family support service put up by two CCGs are provided. It shows how the warm homes scheme in the town of Oldham works and evaluated by university researchers. The benefits of the integrated alcohol strategy and drug treatment service in the cities of Bradford and Airedale are shown.

The article reports on the increase in non-small cell lung cancer patients in England and Wales that have undergone surgery in 2012, according to the audit managed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) of the National Health Service (NHS).

The article reports on the guidance issued by Public Health England in November 2013 on the administration of antibiotics for green phlegm.

The article presents the results of four major trials worldwide as of early November 2013, which showed that the screening for the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a more effective protection against invasive cervical cancer than conventional cytology based screening. The higher detection of cervical cancer was highly notable in women aged 30-35 years old. The researchers claimed that HPV based screening is 60-70% better than cytology based screening as protection against said cancer.

The article focuses on British and U.S. research studies which examined the association of exposure to high levels of aircraft noise to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The article reports on the defense made by Aneez Esmail, a British authority on racial discrimination, of his paper that revealed the possibility of a bias in the membership examination of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The article discusses a study from Cochrane Library which found weak to no evidence that exercise helps treat depression.

The article reports on the public health and emergency doctors' opposition to a decision by health secretary Jeremy Hunt to link extra payments to hospital accident and emergency departments to flu vaccination rates among staff in Great Britain. The doctors believe that Hunt is taking the wrong approach to protect vulnerable patients. In September 2013, Hunt described how extra funds for emergency services for 2013-2014 would be allocated.

The article offers information on a study which found that probiotic supplements do not reduce the incidence of diarrhoea in older people being treated with antibiotics.

The article offers information on a survey conducted in Australia, which depicts that 81% of smokers using plain packaged tobacco cigarettes thought of quitting smoking as they found them less satisfying when compared to smokers using brand packs.

The article reports that health check programs in England are ineffective and lead to unnecessary debates over the evidence of their policies, with special focus on a health program that included risk assessments of alcohol consumption and dementia awareness.

The article presents information on study conducted by Medtronic under Yale University open data access (YODA) project which reports that recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2), an orthobiological agent used to promote bone growth, is beneficial in spinal fusion.

The article cites a study which found that children admitted to intensive care units as out-of-hours emergencies in England and Wales had the same chance of survival as those admitted during normal working hours because these wards have consultant input and specialist staff round the clock. The study highlights the debate on the appropriate level of staffing required during weekends in various hospital wards.

The article reports the Health and Social Care Act regulations as unfavorable, causing clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to tender out services, and states that redrafting of rules by peers is a way to prevent commercialization of the National Health Service (NHS), Great Britain.

The article reports that Monitor, the economic regulator of the NHS was informed that too few tendering opportunities, different tax rules and prices that do not reflect the full costs of services are affecting the ability of different providers to bid to run NHS services.

The article reports that women with menorrhagia showed improvement in bleeding and quality of life. Due to a study conducted in England, better response to menorrhagia with levonorgestrel releasing intrauterine system (also known as LNG-IUS or Mirena) than other treatments has been observed.

The article reports that Michael Rawlins, chairman of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Fiona Godlee, editor in chief of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) exchanged letters on approval of drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu), antiviral drug.

The article reports that Cochrane Collaboration, a non profit clinical trial review group, has rejected an offer by Roche, pharmaceutical company, to review the type of analysis of data needed on oseltamivir drug's usefulness for researchers trying to establish the drug's effectiveness.

The article reports that standard of care of people with schizophrenia in England, Great Britain is very poor as too much money is spent on secure units as of 17 November 2012.

The article reports a study by Andreas Diacon, which revealed that a new combination of three drugs called PaMZ is as effective as the standard treatment for tuberculosis (TB).

The article reports the findings of the National Diabetes Audit in Great Britain, which indicate that the likelihood of diabetes patients having all nine essential checks recommended every year vary widely across England and Wales.

The article reports on the consultation on food labelling launched by the health ministers from four countries of Great Britain after the European Union (EU) has passed a legislation in July 2011 relative to the improvement of information included in food packaging.

The article reports on Great Britain Prime Minister David Cameron who has launched action plans for the management of dementia care in the country.

The article reports on a legislation for a minimum unit price for alcohol which is being planned by the government of England and Wales intended to address irresponsible drinking.

The article informs that results of a survey conducted among fellows and members of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) show that overall they are in favour of rejecting the Health and Social Care Bill, but they are split on probable stand of college towards its policy of critical engagement with the government. It has been informed that 69% of respondents rejected the bill as it stood, while 46% wanted improvement in the bill. The survey results show that respondents were most concerned about lack of continuity of care; efficiency savings and reductions in the National Health Service (NHS) funding; clinical staff shortages and health reforms.

The article informs that the National Institute for Health Research and the Medical Research Council funded trial of gene therapy to repair the underlying fault in people with cystic fibrosis will start this month in Great Britain.

The article reports on the announcement of the Royal College of Physicians to hold a general meeting on February 27, 2012 after the collapse of talks between the members of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges regarding the withdrawal of the Health and Social Care Bill in England.