How much healthcare policy is based on evidence? New medicines prescribed by the NHS must pass clinical trials and cost-benefit tests, but not all health policies go through such a rigorous process
The NHS relies on scientific evidence to assess new medicines: drugs are only authorised if they pass clinical trials, and offered only if they pass a cost-benefit test. But similar research into healthcare policy is often used to fuel arguments rather than guide decisions.
The dispute between the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and the British Medical Association over junior doctors’ contracts is tied to the government’s plan to introduce seven-day working in the English NHS. Hunt justified this with a BMJ paper [registration] that found around 11,000 more people die within 30 days of being admitted to hospital on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday, compared with admissions on other days of the week. (Friday and Monday were included as many hospital services close on Friday afternoon and do not reopen until Monday morning.) Continue reading... The Guardian
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