The re-emergence of dried blood spot sampling – are we ready?

Global Health Governance Challenges 2016 – Are We Ready?

The year 2016 could turn out to be a turning point for global health, new political realities and global insecurities will test governance and financing mechanisms in relation to both people and planet. But most importantly political factors such as the global power shift and “the rise of the rest” will define the future of global health. A new mix of health inequity and security challenges has...

The use of dried blood spot sampling for the measurement of HbA1c: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND The use of dried blood spot (DBS) sampling is an alternative to traditional venous blood collection, and particularly useful for people living in rural and remote areas, and for those who are infirm, house-bound or time-poor. The objective of this study was to assess whether the measurement of glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in DBS samples provided comparative and acceptably precise...

Paperless handover: are we ready?

To cite: Vidyarthi AR, Coffey M. BMJ Qual Saf Published Online First: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bmjqs-2015005027 Scribbling patient information into the margins of pieces of paper during handover is a time-honoured tradition. House staff carefully guard these lists in pockets of white coats, on clipboards, or tucked into shoulder bags. They pull them out once the beeper goes o...

Are we ready for the proactive patient?

The World is Changing – Are We Ready?

It is clear that there is an ongoing revolution in medicine as cost and regulatory pressures begin to intersect with our clinical responsibilities for the care of patients. In the past, particularly in the area of in vitro diagnostics, all that was required for approval for clinical use of biomarkers was an analytically robust measuring system, a reasonable analytic validation, a modicum of cli...