Hi Dr. Gunn

Sorry, should have checked up on your previous articles before making my comments.

We have reached a sorry state of affairs. To quote Richard Horton, former editor of The Lancet:

>>Journals have devolved into information laundering operations for the pharmaceutical industry*>>

This is a shocking statement coming from a former editor of such a prestigious journal.

I sometimes wonder whether doctors should issue prescriptions with:

Brisk fifteen minute walk b.i.d.

The campaign against smoking his been largely successful. The proportion of adults who smoke has dropped precipitately. But encouraging more physical activity is always put into the too hard basket. I did a spoof piece on this a few weeks ago:

TAXING US INTO GOOD HEALTH

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4641&page=0

Like your patient I too belong to the generation that remembers the polio epidemic. A dear friend of mine recently gave up the struggle and resigned herself to life in a wheelchair.

*As quoted in PLoS Medicine:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020138#pmed-0020138-b1

Dr. Gunn,

Great article, but I think we should start with the basics before we worry about NNT's and such like. Only a few months ago I had a GP (not my regular one, thank heavens) offer to write me a prescription of antibiotics for my COLD. :(

To be fair, he probably knew they'd do no good and was making the offer preemptively because of all the halfwit patients who come into his office demanding antibiotics for viral infections. But that's not really an excuse for such quackery - makes you wonder where these folk get their medical degrees.