20 MAY 2019
By David Tuller, DrPH
Two weeks ago,
I exchanged e-mails with Professor Roger Jones, editor of the British Journal of General Practice. I asked him to correct a false statement in an editorial about the cost of so-called medically unexplained symptoms to the National Health Service.
In response, he invited me to send in “one or two short sentences” that the journal would consider publishing. I declined this invitation and suggested it was his and the authors’ job to fix their own mistakes. I haven’t heard back.
Although the journal published the editorial two years ago, Professor Jones rightly pointed out in his e-mail to me that the data being mis-cited were ten years old. He appeared to suggest it was therefore a waste of time to bother correcting them–although I must have been mistaken because no editor of a prominent medical journal would make such a ridiculous suggestion.
But perhaps Professor Jones has more pressing matters on his mind than dealing with dated data. As it turns out, he is
a current candidate for president of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Hey, and voting takes place this month! Here is some information about what this position entails: “The RCGP President is the ceremonial head of the College, but without executive powers, whereas our Chair…leads on strategic direction and policy at the organisation.”
I guess being RCGP president is like being the queen. Maybe you get to tilt your head and wave politely at affairs of state. I wish Professor Jones the best of luck in his electoral campaign!
In any event, I sent him the following on Sunday. I cc-d those I had previously cc-d–three members of Parliament, four doctors involved in the NICE guidance development process, the lead author of the cited paper, the lead author of the journal editorial.
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Dear Professor Jones—
I have not heard back from you about when you and/or Professor Chew-Graham intend [...]
