Mary Dixon-Woods
@marydixonwoods.bsky.social
Director @thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk @uniofcam.bsky.social. I study how to improve and innovate in healthcare quality and safety. Views: Own
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Is meaningful progress on waiting lists happening?
Our new analysis projects that if recent referral and removal trends continue and there are no future changes in policy, 92% of waits will be within 34.9 weeks by July 2029, almost twice the 18-week standard.
Read more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4B0JntV
Our new analysis projects that if recent referral and removal trends continue and there are no future changes in policy, 92% of waits will be within 34.9 weeks by July 2029, almost twice the 18-week standard.
Read more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4B0JntV
October 8, 2026 at 8:11 AM
Is meaningful progress on waiting lists happening?
Our new analysis projects that if recent referral and removal trends continue and there are no future changes in policy, 92% of waits will be within 34.9 weeks by July 2029, almost twice the 18-week standard.
Read more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4B0JntV
Our new analysis projects that if recent referral and removal trends continue and there are no future changes in policy, 92% of waits will be within 34.9 weeks by July 2029, almost twice the 18-week standard.
Read more ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4B0JntV
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Sewers are one of the most transformational interventions to human health in history, yet they are rarely understood or recognised for their impact. So we are holding an event about them next Tuesday. In person in London or watch online!
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/searc...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/searc...
The secret life of sewers
From the Big Stink to the fatberg, London's history has always flowed through what (and how) we flush away. Sewers are one of the most transformational, yet least recognised interventions in the histo...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
October 8, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Sewers are one of the most transformational interventions to human health in history, yet they are rarely understood or recognised for their impact. So we are holding an event about them next Tuesday. In person in London or watch online!
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/searc...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/events/searc...
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
The NAIF 2026 annual report, Beyond hip fracture, is now available.
Explore new insights from the expanded audit, now including other injuries, and key opportunities to improve falls prevention, post-fall care and patient outcomes.
🔗 Read the full report: https://ow.ly/rCtl50ZTrBl
Explore new insights from the expanded audit, now including other injuries, and key opportunities to improve falls prevention, post-fall care and patient outcomes.
🔗 Read the full report: https://ow.ly/rCtl50ZTrBl
October 8, 2026 at 12:30 PM
The NAIF 2026 annual report, Beyond hip fracture, is now available.
Explore new insights from the expanded audit, now including other injuries, and key opportunities to improve falls prevention, post-fall care and patient outcomes.
🔗 Read the full report: https://ow.ly/rCtl50ZTrBl
Explore new insights from the expanded audit, now including other injuries, and key opportunities to improve falls prevention, post-fall care and patient outcomes.
🔗 Read the full report: https://ow.ly/rCtl50ZTrBl
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Archive of @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow Stuart Hall is now live. Includes looking at his impact on the history of communication theory, culminating in the architecture of contemporary AI models
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Archive link: stuarthalldigital.bham.ac.uk/archival_mat...
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Archive link: stuarthalldigital.bham.ac.uk/archival_mat...
Thatcherism via the Walkman: Stuart Hall’s British cultural studies preserved online
Project lead says it celebrates ‘incredible contributions’ Jamaica-born sociologist made to Britain’s culture
www.theguardian.com
October 7, 2026 at 12:36 PM
Archive of @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow Stuart Hall is now live. Includes looking at his impact on the history of communication theory, culminating in the architecture of contemporary AI models
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Archive link: stuarthalldigital.bham.ac.uk/archival_mat...
www.theguardian.com/society/2026...
Archive link: stuarthalldigital.bham.ac.uk/archival_mat...
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
“It’s a story about a bunch of historians who were knowledgeable about emerging technologies and knew how to code … and who spent a lot of time, some of it wasted time, at a big table chatting.”
On the history of Zotero. Which, unsurprisingly, is beautiful.
On the history of Zotero. Which, unsurprisingly, is beautiful.
On the 20th anniversary of Zotero's 1.0 release on October 5, 2006, I wrote a history of the collaboration and years it took to create the popular research tool now used by over 20 million people: newsletter.dancohen.org/archive/the-...
The Slow Formation of Durable Software
How a group of historians took years to imagine Zotero, the research application that would eventually be used by millions
newsletter.dancohen.org
October 7, 2026 at 2:48 AM
“It’s a story about a bunch of historians who were knowledgeable about emerging technologies and knew how to code … and who spent a lot of time, some of it wasted time, at a big table chatting.”
On the history of Zotero. Which, unsurprisingly, is beautiful.
On the history of Zotero. Which, unsurprisingly, is beautiful.
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
New @nejm.org Voices: how I write an introduction to a research manuscript
“My first piece of advice…: write your introduction backwards.
“My second piece of advice: innovate in your ideas, not in the structure of how you present the ideas.”
voices.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
“My first piece of advice…: write your introduction backwards.
“My second piece of advice: innovate in your ideas, not in the structure of how you present the ideas.”
voices.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Start Here to Write a Research Introduction Section
A step-by-step guide to writing a concise introduction to a clinical research manuscript
voices.nejm.org
October 7, 2026 at 12:52 AM
New @nejm.org Voices: how I write an introduction to a research manuscript
“My first piece of advice…: write your introduction backwards.
“My second piece of advice: innovate in your ideas, not in the structure of how you present the ideas.”
voices.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
“My first piece of advice…: write your introduction backwards.
“My second piece of advice: innovate in your ideas, not in the structure of how you present the ideas.”
voices.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
A recent Milbank Quarterly article found that the Massachusetts Medicaid program improved maternal care quality when it intentionally & strategically incorporated maternal health-specific provisions into Medicaid ACO contracts — and provided resources for patient tracking & care coordination teams
How Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations Advance Maternal Health Care Quality: Drivers of Change and Challenges from the Perspective of ACO Leaders, Clinicians, and Care Coordinators | Milbank Quar...
In the wake of a US maternal health crisis, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) may be a key opportunity to improve maternal health care.
www.milbank.org
October 6, 2026 at 5:23 PM
A recent Milbank Quarterly article found that the Massachusetts Medicaid program improved maternal care quality when it intentionally & strategically incorporated maternal health-specific provisions into Medicaid ACO contracts — and provided resources for patient tracking & care coordination teams
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
"Paired Spo2 measurements differed by ≥ 3% during 33% of monitored time (95% CI, 30%-35%) and by ≥ 5% during 13% of the time (95% CI, 12%-15%). The concordance correlation coefficient was 0.41, indicating poor agreement between paired Spo2 measurements."
www.chestcc.org/article/S294...
www.chestcc.org/article/S294...
Discrepancy Between Peripheral Oxygen Saturation Measurements Obtained Simultaneously From 2 Pulse Oximeters Made by Different Manufacturers in Acutely Ill Patients
Among adults hospitalized with acute hypoxemia, Spo2 values measured simultaneously
by 2 pulse oximeters from different manufacturers differed by a clinically meaningful
amount approximately one-third...
www.chestcc.org
October 5, 2026 at 4:32 PM
"Paired Spo2 measurements differed by ≥ 3% during 33% of monitored time (95% CI, 30%-35%) and by ≥ 5% during 13% of the time (95% CI, 12%-15%). The concordance correlation coefficient was 0.41, indicating poor agreement between paired Spo2 measurements."
www.chestcc.org/article/S294...
www.chestcc.org/article/S294...
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
A cartoon by Rose Anne Prevec.
October 4, 2026 at 8:00 PM
A cartoon by Rose Anne Prevec.
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Want to spend a year in the United States conducting internationally comparative research and developing leadership skills?
Apply for the @commonwealthfund.org 2027–28 Harkness Fellowships in Health Care Policy and Practice ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4x2lsYL
Apply for the @commonwealthfund.org 2027–28 Harkness Fellowships in Health Care Policy and Practice ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4x2lsYL
October 2, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Want to spend a year in the United States conducting internationally comparative research and developing leadership skills?
Apply for the @commonwealthfund.org 2027–28 Harkness Fellowships in Health Care Policy and Practice ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4x2lsYL
Apply for the @commonwealthfund.org 2027–28 Harkness Fellowships in Health Care Policy and Practice ⬇️
https://bit.ly/4x2lsYL
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Two new BMJ studies suggest that robotic assisted hip and knee replacements offer no clear benefit over conventional surgery for implant survival, revision risk, or surgical complications
https://bit.ly/4hHx2C5
https://bit.ly/3TY0uf7
https://bit.ly/4hHx2C5
https://bit.ly/3TY0uf7
October 2, 2026 at 11:13 AM
Two new BMJ studies suggest that robotic assisted hip and knee replacements offer no clear benefit over conventional surgery for implant survival, revision risk, or surgical complications
https://bit.ly/4hHx2C5
https://bit.ly/3TY0uf7
https://bit.ly/4hHx2C5
https://bit.ly/3TY0uf7
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Is AI supercharging science?
“While the average surveyed scientist reported saving almost 7 hrs per week thanks to AI…a significant amount goes on manually auditing & verifying the results of work performed by AI — what the researchers termed the “verification tax” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
“While the average surveyed scientist reported saving almost 7 hrs per week thanks to AI…a significant amount goes on manually auditing & verifying the results of work performed by AI — what the researchers termed the “verification tax” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
The AI Shift: Is AI supercharging science?
Productivity gains in analysis are getting stuck in physical-world bottlenecks
giftarticle.ft.com
October 2, 2026 at 10:10 AM
Is AI supercharging science?
“While the average surveyed scientist reported saving almost 7 hrs per week thanks to AI…a significant amount goes on manually auditing & verifying the results of work performed by AI — what the researchers termed the “verification tax” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
“While the average surveyed scientist reported saving almost 7 hrs per week thanks to AI…a significant amount goes on manually auditing & verifying the results of work performed by AI — what the researchers termed the “verification tax” giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
📢 Applications are open for the RCP Whitney-Wood Scholarship!
Up to £50,000 is available for health and medicine research, with cancer-focused projects especially encouraged.
Open to subscribing RCP members and fellows.
🔗 Find out more and apply now: https://ow.ly/U5Cf50ZSCJj
Up to £50,000 is available for health and medicine research, with cancer-focused projects especially encouraged.
Open to subscribing RCP members and fellows.
🔗 Find out more and apply now: https://ow.ly/U5Cf50ZSCJj
October 1, 2026 at 11:00 AM
📢 Applications are open for the RCP Whitney-Wood Scholarship!
Up to £50,000 is available for health and medicine research, with cancer-focused projects especially encouraged.
Open to subscribing RCP members and fellows.
🔗 Find out more and apply now: https://ow.ly/U5Cf50ZSCJj
Up to £50,000 is available for health and medicine research, with cancer-focused projects especially encouraged.
Open to subscribing RCP members and fellows.
🔗 Find out more and apply now: https://ow.ly/U5Cf50ZSCJj
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
💡Help lead the next phase of intensive care research!
We're recruiting for Directors of Research across:
- Organ Dysfunction & Failure
- Infection & Inflammation
- Recovery & Long-Term Outcomes
- Data & Methodology
Applications close 12 October: ics.ac.uk/about-us/vac...
#CriticalCare #Research
We're recruiting for Directors of Research across:
- Organ Dysfunction & Failure
- Infection & Inflammation
- Recovery & Long-Term Outcomes
- Data & Methodology
Applications close 12 October: ics.ac.uk/about-us/vac...
#CriticalCare #Research
October 1, 2026 at 2:23 PM
💡Help lead the next phase of intensive care research!
We're recruiting for Directors of Research across:
- Organ Dysfunction & Failure
- Infection & Inflammation
- Recovery & Long-Term Outcomes
- Data & Methodology
Applications close 12 October: ics.ac.uk/about-us/vac...
#CriticalCare #Research
We're recruiting for Directors of Research across:
- Organ Dysfunction & Failure
- Infection & Inflammation
- Recovery & Long-Term Outcomes
- Data & Methodology
Applications close 12 October: ics.ac.uk/about-us/vac...
#CriticalCare #Research
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
This #NationalPoetryDay, discover unpublished work by Seamus Heaney in Cambridge.
Our free exhibition, Living Water, features two rare pieces by Heaney: a poem and a short story. They are not online & can only be experienced in person at the exhibition.
🔗 Plan your visit: https://loom.ly/64SyJug
Our free exhibition, Living Water, features two rare pieces by Heaney: a poem and a short story. They are not online & can only be experienced in person at the exhibition.
🔗 Plan your visit: https://loom.ly/64SyJug
October 1, 2026 at 2:04 PM
This #NationalPoetryDay, discover unpublished work by Seamus Heaney in Cambridge.
Our free exhibition, Living Water, features two rare pieces by Heaney: a poem and a short story. They are not online & can only be experienced in person at the exhibition.
🔗 Plan your visit: https://loom.ly/64SyJug
Our free exhibition, Living Water, features two rare pieces by Heaney: a poem and a short story. They are not online & can only be experienced in person at the exhibition.
🔗 Plan your visit: https://loom.ly/64SyJug
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
NEW PODCAST: After several weeks of apocalyptic headlines, how worried about AI in health care should we be? 🎧 https://bit.ly/4iMUtvP
October 1, 2026 at 8:30 AM
NEW PODCAST: After several weeks of apocalyptic headlines, how worried about AI in health care should we be? 🎧 https://bit.ly/4iMUtvP
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Gut-wrenching that so many families are still suffering so much after such intense scrutiny - and support.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
East Kent NHS admits 'failing families' over stillbirths
An independent review ordered by the trust finds systemic issues lay at the heart of the failures.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 30, 2026 at 1:10 PM
Gut-wrenching that so many families are still suffering so much after such intense scrutiny - and support.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
From the early 1400s, a lavishly illustrated vellum scroll (almost 18 ft long!) of the works of English physician John of Arderne, one of the founding figures of modern surgery: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/arderne-scroll/
September 30, 2026 at 2:18 PM
From the early 1400s, a lavishly illustrated vellum scroll (almost 18 ft long!) of the works of English physician John of Arderne, one of the founding figures of modern surgery: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/arderne-scroll/
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Just ban them now!!! There is no reason for tanning beds to exist
How social media helped make sunbeds dangerous again
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
How social media helped make sunbeds dangerous again
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
How social media helped make sunbeds dangerous again
Melanoma is now one of the most common cancers in people aged 15 to 34, and attributed to a growing trend in sunbed use fuelled by TikTok and Instagram
observer.co.uk
September 27, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Just ban them now!!! There is no reason for tanning beds to exist
How social media helped make sunbeds dangerous again
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
How social media helped make sunbeds dangerous again
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Our policy paper on the expansion of cancer susceptibility gene testing from specialist clinics to routine oncology or even the population. In short, the clinical value of testing outside specialist setting is not a given.
DM me if you want access to the paper.
Our policy paper on the expansion of cancer susceptibility gene testing from specialist clinics to routine oncology or even the population. In short, the clinical value of testing outside specialist setting is not a given.
DM me if you want access to the paper.
September 25, 2026 at 7:01 PM
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Our policy paper on the expansion of cancer susceptibility gene testing from specialist clinics to routine oncology or even the population. In short, the clinical value of testing outside specialist setting is not a given.
DM me if you want access to the paper.
Our policy paper on the expansion of cancer susceptibility gene testing from specialist clinics to routine oncology or even the population. In short, the clinical value of testing outside specialist setting is not a given.
DM me if you want access to the paper.
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Such a great opportunity. We are offering scholars the chance to spend a year at the Foreign Office through one of our Innovation Fellowships. The priority themes are outlined below. We offer up to £120k for the fellowship. Please help spread the word!
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
September 24, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Such a great opportunity. We are offering scholars the chance to spend a year at the Foreign Office through one of our Innovation Fellowships. The priority themes are outlined below. We offer up to £120k for the fellowship. Please help spread the word!
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
📣 It's been a long time coming but delighted to see that the @nejm.org review from David Hunter and me is out! "Clinical Uses of Common Genetic Variants Associated with Common Diseases" www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
The next 10 years will be a very exciting time for genomic population health
The next 10 years will be a very exciting time for genomic population health
September 24, 2026 at 11:11 AM
📣 It's been a long time coming but delighted to see that the @nejm.org review from David Hunter and me is out! "Clinical Uses of Common Genetic Variants Associated with Common Diseases" www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
The next 10 years will be a very exciting time for genomic population health
The next 10 years will be a very exciting time for genomic population health
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
David J. Hunter, MB, BS, FMedSci, and Michael Inouye, PhD, review the ways common genetic variants, polygenic risk scores, and pharmacogenomic genotyping may be useful in the prevention of common diseases and the treatment of common diseases after diagnosis. Full review: https://nej.md/4Amwv0F
September 23, 2026 at 10:00 PM
David J. Hunter, MB, BS, FMedSci, and Michael Inouye, PhD, review the ways common genetic variants, polygenic risk scores, and pharmacogenomic genotyping may be useful in the prevention of common diseases and the treatment of common diseases after diagnosis. Full review: https://nej.md/4Amwv0F
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Why the mortality penalty of smoking is rising over time
doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
Paper in @pnasnexus.org by Ralph Lawton, @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social Senior Research Fellow @drjenndowd.bsky.social, Jonathan Skinner and Ellen Meara
doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
Paper in @pnasnexus.org by Ralph Lawton, @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social Senior Research Fellow @drjenndowd.bsky.social, Jonathan Skinner and Ellen Meara
Why the mortality penalty of smoking is rising over time
Abstract. The adverse association between smoking and mortality is well known, yet estimated risks for smokers have risen markedly in recent decades. Expla
doi.org
September 23, 2026 at 2:00 PM
Why the mortality penalty of smoking is rising over time
doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
Paper in @pnasnexus.org by Ralph Lawton, @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social Senior Research Fellow @drjenndowd.bsky.social, Jonathan Skinner and Ellen Meara
doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
Paper in @pnasnexus.org by Ralph Lawton, @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social Senior Research Fellow @drjenndowd.bsky.social, Jonathan Skinner and Ellen Meara
Reposted by Mary Dixon-Woods
Platform trials evaluate multiple interventions within one or more domains, offering a flexible alternative to traditional RCTs and enabling more efficient identification of effective or harmful treatments #OpenAccess https://www.bjaopen.org/article/S2772-6096(26)00043-2/fulltext
September 20, 2026 at 8:01 AM
Platform trials evaluate multiple interventions within one or more domains, offering a flexible alternative to traditional RCTs and enabling more efficient identification of effective or harmful treatments #OpenAccess https://www.bjaopen.org/article/S2772-6096(26)00043-2/fulltext