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Social Media in Medicine

Physicians writing on KevinMD about being a physician in public: professional presence online, patient privacy, online reviews and reputation, medical misinformation, and how clinicians use social platforms to teach, advocate, and connect. KevinMD itself has been a case study in this since 2004.

Everybody loses when physician conferences restrict medical news reporting

by Robert Stern, MA, CCMEP Almost a decade ago, I had a simple idea -- deliver fast, accurate medical news to clinicians in a format that was easily accessible, and turn that news into a "teachable moment." Almost five years…

by Robert Stern, MA, CCMEP

Almost a decade ago, I had a simple idea — deliver fast, accurate medical news to clinicians in a format that was easily accessible, and turn that news into a “teachable moment.” Almost five years ago, that idea became reality with the launch of MedPage Today.

Monday through Friday (and if news is happening, Saturday and Sunday, too), MedPage Today delivers on our promise of “Putting Breaking …

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Everybody loses when physician conferences restrict medical news reporting

What if newspapers reported science the way they cover the World Series?

by Larry Husten, Ph.D. October brings the Nobel Prize announcements and the World Series. No one will mistake media coverage of one for the other. Each Nobel Prize will get one article and 10 seconds on the evening news. A…

by Larry Husten, Ph.D.

October brings the Nobel Prize announcements and the World Series. No one will mistake media coverage of one for the other. Each Nobel Prize will get one article and 10 seconds on the evening news. A soft feature will quote the new Nobel recipient’s complete surprise at the 4 AM phone call.

By contrast, baseball, like all major sports, is covered in great depth, by legions of sports …

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What if newspapers reported science the way they cover the World Series?

How Google Sidewiki will impact drug company websites

Take a look at the screen shot below, from Pfizer’s homepage. Believe it or not, I, or anyone else, can now leave comments “on” any website (such as Pfizer.com) using a new tool (currently in beta) from Google, called Sidewiki.…

Take a look at the screen shot below, from Pfizer’s homepage. Believe it or not, I, or anyone else, can now leave comments “on” any website (such as Pfizer.com) using a new tool (currently in beta) from Google, called Sidewiki.

pfizersidewiki

Game-changer? You bet.

While the use of Google’s Sidewiki has ramifications across the entire web, for every type of site or industry, I’m going …

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How Google Sidewiki will impact drug company websites

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Why our health care system promotes disease maintenance

When I was growing up in the 1970s, news was different, and this is not just the everything-was-better-in-my-day nostalgia. News was about news. News was not sexy. What has changed? Robert Reich's Supercapitalism, makes the answer obvious: competition. Interestingly, according…

When I was growing up in the 1970s, news was different, and this is not just the everything-was-better-in-my-day nostalgia. News was about news. News was not sexy. What has changed? Robert Reich’s Supercapitalism, makes the answer obvious: competition.

Interestingly, according to economic theories, competition is good for the consumer – it drives quality up and prices down. That may be true for toilet paper, but it has not panned out for …

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Why our health care system promotes disease maintenance

Medical students using Facebook and Twitter can get expelled

by Chris Emery, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today A large number of U.S. medical schools say students have posted unprofessional material on Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, but few schools have adequate policies in place for dealing with…

by Chris Emery, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today

A large number of U.S. medical schools say students have posted unprofessional material on Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, but few schools have adequate policies in place for dealing with such behavior, a new study found.

medpage-today Of 78 U.S. medical schools that responded to a survey, 60% reported incidents of …

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Medical students using Facebook and Twitter can get expelled

The AMA and Sermo break up, and how it’s getting ugly

When the online physician discussion site, Sermo, and the American Medical Association joined forces in 2007, it was heralded as a promising partnership for both entities. In fact, as Sermo's CEO Daniel Palestrant said back then, "As a company, we…

When the online physician discussion site, Sermo, and the American Medical Association joined forces in 2007, it was heralded as a promising partnership for both entities.

In fact, as Sermo’s CEO Daniel Palestrant said back then, “As a company, we had to take a very rational perspective on that by saying we’re a small software company, not an advocacy organization. Who is the best entity to turn voice into action? …

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The AMA and Sermo break up, and how it’s getting ugly

Is House M.D. bad for medicine?

A few days ago, we talked about how Scrubs was a relatively accurate portrayal of medical life.Let's talk about the other end of the spectrum, namely, Fox's House M.D.As an emergency physician notes, the doctors in the House-universe seem super-human.…

A few days ago, we talked about how Scrubs was a relatively accurate portrayal of medical life.

Let’s talk about the other end of the spectrum, namely, Fox’s House M.D.

As an emergency physician notes, the doctors in the House-universe seem super-human. Indeed, “the docs on that show are not only walking encyclopedias of rare diseases, but they are …

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Is House M.D. bad for medicine?

Does violence on TV and in the media really lead to violent behavior?

We've become accustomed the notion that media violence is bad for children, and that exposure to it can lead to all kinds of problems, including violent behavior. Those us who remember Columbine in 1999 will certainly recall reports that the…

We’ve become accustomed the notion that media violence is bad for children, and that exposure to it can lead to all kinds of problems, including violent behavior. Those us who remember Columbine in 1999 will certainly recall reports that the killers played the videogame Doom and listened to Marilynn Manson before they went on their tragic rampage. Less dramatic anecdotes pop up regularly.

But there’s a new, detailed analysis of media …

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Does violence on TV and in the media really lead to violent behavior?

Anti-vaccine ads, and how false advertising harms children

Where is the line between true and false advertising? And should we be more careful when the claims an ad makes has potential health consequences for children and communities? Let's ask newspapers that question about big adverts they've printed from…

Where is the line between true and false advertising? And should we be more careful when the claims an ad makes has potential health consequences for children and communities?

Let’s ask newspapers that question about big adverts they’ve printed from Generation Rescue, an autism advocacy group, the one headed up by Jenny McCarthy, who regularly appears on National TV claiming vaccines cause autism.

The ads, which you can see on the Generation …

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Anti-vaccine ads, and how false advertising harms children

6 top medical comments, April 26th 2009

Here are some of the more interesting comments readers have left recently.1. Mediaslackers on the UK's proposed 48-hour physician workweek:I agree there are significant dangers inherent with limiting the number of hours a doctor can work in a week, but…

Here are some of the more interesting comments readers have left recently.

1. Mediaslackers on the UK’s proposed 48-hour physician workweek:
I agree there are significant dangers inherent with limiting the number of hours a doctor can work in a week, but I don’t think they are totally insurmountable or all that much greater than when a doctor is working 30 hours straight, getting a divorce …

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6 top medical comments, April 26th 2009

What makes a good medical blog? 5 traits that matter

Maria writes: "I'd like your take on what you think constitutes a 'good' medblog . . . I am continually surprised with what people like about medblogs. Some people like brief links, some people like critical discussions, some people like…

Maria writes: “I’d like your take on what you think constitutes a ‘good’ medblog . . . I am continually surprised with what people like about medblogs. Some people like brief links, some people like critical discussions, some people like stories.

This ultimately all boils down to opinion, but I’d like to know what traits you like in medblogs.

Can you start by opining that you strongly dislike …

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What makes a good medical blog? 5 traits that matter

How an anonymous doctor blog surfaced in a malpractice trial

Stunning news. The Boston Globe on Flea, his trial and how his blogging ultimately led from a possible victory to settlement:As Ivy League-educated pediatrician Robert P. Lindeman sat on the stand in Suffolk Superior Court this month, defending himself in…

Stunning news. The Boston Globe on Flea, his trial and how his blogging ultimately led from a possible victory to settlement:

As Ivy League-educated pediatrician Robert P. Lindeman sat on the stand in Suffolk Superior Court this month, defending himself in a malpractice suit involving the death of a 12-year-old patient, the opposing counsel startled him with a question.

Was Lindeman Flea?

Flea, jurors in the case

…

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How an anonymous doctor blog surfaced in a malpractice trial

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