h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (England and Wales) - A49457352
Author: Danny B. [Musicians' Guild (U150368); Science EXplained (A4108330); Curator; Scavenger] - U182633

My Entry for The Stretcher. I seem to be the subject of a bug, so don't be surprised if this disappears at regular intervals

Hi Danny B.

Please could you put in a link from 'galantamine' to my Entry on Snowdrops at A3694728.



A

I had it in my head that galantamine was from daffodils

I will add the link, but I'd like to get the bug sorted out first, because as soon as I make any changes the Entry will disappear

Well, it's present in several members of the Amaryllis family, which includes narcissi, daffodils, snowdrops etc. - but it was first isolated from Galanthus spp (snowdrops), hence the name

<.. but I'd like to get the bug sorted out first...>.

Ah, a 'puter bug I originallty thought you meant thay YOU had the bug . My 'puter has something not right with it. It frequently 'freezes' and I end up having to restart it. Sometimes the restart is so slow/non-existent that I have tro push the off/on button

This is an h2g2 bug - for some reason my Entries are behaving as if I'm on pre-mod, so if I make any changes, the Entry vanishes until OK'd by a moderator

I know all about the my "entries I have subbed" page - admittedly humongous - keeps being modded

You'll be pleased to hear at least *one* of the Judges has read your Stretcher effort, Danny

Ms GB

If ever there was a misnomer for an organisation NICE is it

This is painful to read but well done for doing it.

Websailor

This looks like a good piece, but from the medic's point of view NICE is hardly an indefensible organisation - they merely have to decide how to use a very limited resource to buy the most quality-adjusted life years. Also, a lot of these furious patient groups are being secretly egged on by drug companies eager to make money off the NHS.

"NICE is hardly an indefensible organisation"

Have you read the Daily Telegraph recently?

Actually, you're the first medic I've 'spoken' to who hasn't gone when NICE has been mentioned. A lot of doctors (in my experience) seem to see NICE as an interfering busybody, telling them what they can and can't prescribe. Mind you, I'm connected with the pharmaceutical industry myself, so perhaps the medics were just saying what they thought I might have wanted to hear..! In my line of work, supporting NICE is tantamount to suggesting that bankers should be issued with free 4x4s to go and visit their second homes in Cornwall

I think calling it "indefensible" is pretty silly myself - hyperbole, at best. Compare it to the American system, or lack thereof...

All right, all right - I get the message; I'm getting no points in the Stretcher this week!

>>. In Europe, the job of licensing new drugs falls to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA)<<

Maybe you should change that to "In the EU", so that it will be clear it's responsible for the UK, too, not just continental Europe.

Also, that sentence is missing a full stop.

Good point! I've made those changes, and also added Al's link. The Entry has now disappeared for a while

It's back

I think this is a serious and well-argued entry, Danny.
It gives the impression of being very well-informed - I wasn't surprised to read that you have a pharmaceutical background.

It isn't the sort of article you read at a glance as you take a coffee break. Whether that's a bad thing, I'm not sure.

A few minor points:
In the sentence beginning 'By the 1980s doctors were left scratching their heads', I would avoid the repetition in 'information available to inform'
In the sentence beginning 'Based on the list drawn up by', it should be the 'Department of Health'.
The sentence beginning ' This can be in the form of a technology appraisal' gets a bit convoluted. You might be wise to break it up.
Wherever you put a pound sign, I get a funny letter A on my browser.

Thanks mvp - all good points

I've made the changes; see what you think (and I've hopefully sorted out the pound-sign problem. Lord knows what was happening there...)

And I'm no longer being pre-modded!

Alex, try having a relative with Alzheimer's or cancer. I don't think that most patient groups are egged on by anything but desperate need of help and relief. It is short term saving of money leading to longer term and more serious illness,expense and worry for many people.

Websailor

It looks fine now.

>>It is short term saving of money leading to longer term and more serious illness,expense and worry for many people.<<

Sure it's bad for the individual, but if it provides care for ten other people instead...