Talk:Richard Asher

Was
Was he indeed knighted, if so when? 194.151.165.92 10:45, 15 December 2006 (UTC)
 * It is very unlikely that Asher had a knighthood. It is not mentioned in his obituary in Br Med J., or anywhere else that I have seen in the course of adding all the citations and links to the article. I've therefore deleted "Sir" from his name. I've also taken the liberty of changing the status from stub to start, as the article is now so much richer in scope and sources. Would anyone like to peer-review it? Pointillist (talk) 16:44, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

To Do
*I would like to have a better reference to Asher on Cholesterol (e.g. detail of the reference by Dr Alick Dowling in http://www.bristolmedchi.co.uk/docs/Book%20Review%20by%20Dr%20Dowling.doc) as this is a topical issue.
 * If there is any online source for the text of his other notable articles, it would be very useful to have it.
 * A photograph of Asher is needed. Something from 1947-1960 would be best - the low resolution picture in his obituary shows him after the period when he made he most enduring contributions and anyway there would be rights issues. Once this article has been assessed and finalised, it might make sense to show it to the Asher family and request that they publish a picture of him in WikiCommons . Image provided by Jane Asher uploaded to Commons - Pointillist (talk) 12:13, 4 June 2008 (UTC)
 * Please add any additional suggestions below. - Pointillist (talk) 01:18, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

I think the article asserts his notability and provides a pretty wide scope of his activities. It is entirely up to the family to release an image under the GFDL, but that gives them no control over the content. Some older papers may be available on PubMed Central.

The cholesterol quote is of course a complete anachronism. Asher died before the major cholesterol intervention trials were performed and demonstrated pretty much unequivocally that cholesterol plays a substantial role in coronary heart disease. If you personally disagree with this (and I don't know if you do or not), I would advise you not to use this article as a vehicle. JFW | T@lk  10:59, 23 March 2008 (UTC)


 * JFW, many thanks for assessing it so promptly. Agreed that the cholesterol mention is inappropriate and I will delete it - I have no axe to grind on this article, just thought it was an interesting example of a contrarian position. Since the James&Ralph1988 source only cites his posthumous Talking Sense collection, it isn't clear when he took this position anyway. Pointillist (talk) 17:09, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

In the 1960s, when clofibrate was introduced, there were ample reasons to be concerned about the overemphasis on cholesterol, because relatively little was known about the mechanism and possible therapeutic effects of cholesterol lowering. Asher was not alone, so it was not quite as much a contrarian position to take then as it is now. JFW | T@lk  21:54, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

I've just come across a wobbly hand-held video of the opening of the Richard Asher exhibition at the Royal Society of Medicine Library in 2015 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7gDgAm7KiA). I don't think it warrants being added to the article but it gives an opportunity to hear Jane and Claire Asher reminiscing. Pointillist (talk) 05:06, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

Asher's Catechism
consider including a reference to Asher's Catechism, British Medical Journal 1954; ii: 460 - Doctors requesting investigations should bear in mind Asher’s catechism (British Medical Journal 1954; ii: 460). Why do I request this test?, What will I look for in the result?,  If I find what I’m looking for will it affect my diagnosis?,  How will this investigation affect my management of this patient?,  Will this investigation ultimately benefit this? - this reference is widely used in Pathology department's handbooks to ensure that laboratory services are used in a cost effective manner. - See https://www.barnsleyhospital.nhs.uk/pathology/microbiology/using-microbiology-services/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.246.234.238 (talk) 17:29, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Found on page 3 of Straight and Crooked Thinking in Medicine:

Logic and the Laboratory.... Also it is in the ordering of laboratory or radiological investigations that rational thinking is so necessary. It is a salutary exercise in mental discipline to catechize oneself when ordering any medical investigation, saying, "Why do I order this test ? What am I going to look for in the result ? If I find it will it affect my diagnosis ? How will this affect my management of the case? Will this ultimately benefit the patient ? "

It would be only rarely that we could answer all these questions satisfactorily, as, for instance, in ordering a Wassermann test and a Lange curve on the cerebrospinal fluid of a patient suspected of dementia paralytica. Perhaps it would be a good idea to have a space on every laboratory form in which the doctor had to state exactly why he had ordered a test. I believe if answers were honestly filled in we might get this sort of thing:
 * 1) I order this test because if it agrees with my opinion I will believe it, and if it does not I shall disbelieve it.
 * 2) I do not understand this test and am uncertain of the normal figure, but it is the fashion to order it.
 * 3) When my chief asks if you have done this or that test I like to say yes, so I order as many tests as I can to avoid being caught out.
 * 4) I have no clear idea what I am looking for, but in ordering this test I feel in a vague way (like Mr. Micawber) that something might turn up.
 * 5) I order this test because I want to convince the patient there is nothing wrong, and I don't think he will believe me without a test.
 * I'll leave it to others to decide whether to add this. If so, would a link to reasons for discretionary testing be helpful (e.g. link to Medical test, enhancing the monitoring section per table 1.2 in Clinical Biochemistry)? Pointillist (talk) 04:53, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

ANCESTRY AND FAMILY
He is of American and German descent. His maternal grandfather Leopold Stern was born in Kreis Darmstadt, Volksstaad Hessen, then Prussia, now Germany. His great-grandfather Alen Asher was born in Tennessee (USA) and his son (Richard's paternal grandfather) John Willis Asher, was born in St. Charles Hotel, New Orleans. Source here: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Asher-1168

Also, his brother Thomas George Horsey Asher married Richard's wife Margaret Eliot's sister, Susan Eliot https://www.thepeerage.com/p69091.htm#i690905139.47.35.235 (talk) 12:27, 6 October 2023 (UTC)