Physicians writing on KevinMD about how the news covers medicine: bad science in headlines, misinformation and how to answer it, television doctors and the physician as influencer, drug stigma in photographs, and what it costs a patient when a story gets it wrong. Most of the archive dates from 2008 to 2016, when medical journalism was a daily argument on the site; the recent posts are about misinformation and reputation.

Everybody loses when physician conferences restrict medical news reporting

Social Media in Medicine
October 23, 2009

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?

Social Media in Medicine
October 21, 2009

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?

Why our health care system promotes disease maintenance

Social Media in Medicine
September 25, 2009

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

Does being on the America’s Best Hospitals list affect patient outcomes?

Physician
September 4, 2009

by Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

A news magazine’s rankings of top-rated hospitals for heart failure care did not include many hospitals that performed at least as well as the ranked centers, according to a comparison of the magazine’s list and government data.

medpage-today Hospitals that made the U.S. News & World Report list had a better 30-day mortality than …

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Does being on the America’s Best Hospitals list affect patient outcomes?

How to make industry influence transparent in continuing medical education

Medical Education
August 25, 2009

by Larry Husten, Ph.D.

A recent hearing of the Senate Aging Committee on continuing medical education (CME) should scare anyone who might need to see a doctor in the next few years. But you don’t need to be a Washington policy wonk to discover that there’s a huge problem with CME.

Just walk into the lobby of any major downtown hotel when a large medical conference is in town and you will …

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How to make industry influence transparent in continuing medical education

Can the American Medical Association still be an influential voice in health reform?

Health Policy
June 29, 2009

The repercussions after Obama’s speech to the AMA’s delegates continue to be felt.

Not least of which are the murmurings of the other professional physician groups, who say that the AMA does not represent a majority of physicians. In this piece from pediatrician Rahul Parikh, he notes that about 30 percent of physicians are AMA members. Remaining doctors belong to groups with more liberal political leanings, including the American …

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Can the American Medical Association still be an influential voice in health reform?

How did Michael Jackson die, and the medicine behind sudden cardiac death

Conditions and Diseases
June 25, 2009

Michael Jackson is dead at age 50.

I’ve received several e-mails to comment on this story, but there’s really too few details to go on. I’m sure more will emerge in the near future.

According to news reports, emergency medical services were called to his home in Los Angeles, where he was found in presumed cardiac arrest. CPR …

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How did Michael Jackson die, and the medicine behind sudden cardiac death

Physician payment reform is the key to fixing the health care system

Health Policy
June 1, 2009

Changing the way doctors are paid is more important than the debate over the public insurance option, or the arguments over whether we should adopt a single-payer system or not.

Atul Gawande’s recent New Yorker article is a tour de force, and gets down to the core of why American health care is so expensive. I won’t bother summarizing it here – it deserves to be read in its …

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Physician payment reform is the key to fixing the health care system

6 top medical comments, May 31st, 2009

Health Technology
May 31, 2009

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

1. Dr. Grumpy on the art of medicine and electronic medical records:
I do use an EMR, but patient’s routinely tell me I’m good at listening. I think it’s an individual basis. Some doctors are technophiles, and put that first. That ain’t right. Some doctors are so intent on listening, that they may forget a detail, and then it …

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6 top medical comments, May 31st, 2009

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

Social Media in Medicine
May 10, 2009

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

Social Media in Medicine
April 29, 2009

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

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6 top medical comments, April 26th 2009

Social Media in Medicine
April 26, 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 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

5 top medical comments, April 12th 2009

Uncategorized
April 12, 2009

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

1. Dr. Gwenn on limited health literacy:
For us to do a better job with patients and teach them to be better advocates for themselves, we need more time – plain and simple. At the same time, patients need more community supports to understand the complex health world and build the skills they need …

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5 top medical comments, April 12th 2009

Is Natasha Richardson brain dead? Was an epidural bleed, or “talk and die” syndrome, to blame after her ski accident?

Physician
March 18, 2009

Tragic news this morning regarding actress Natasha Richardson, who reportedly, suffered a head injury during a ski lesson in Canada.

According to reports, she fell on a beginner’s ski hill, and did not hit anyone or anything during the fall. There was no obvious sign of injury, and in fact, she was “was walking around and feeling fine for an hour after her accident.”

Things then …

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Is Natasha Richardson brain dead? Was an epidural bleed, or “talk and die” syndrome, to blame after her ski accident?

Will reforming the malpractice system be a deal breaker for health reform?

Physician
March 17, 2009

In a surprise, President Obama has signaled a willingness to discuss medical liability as part of the health reform process.

Good for him for standing up to the trial lawyers, a core constituency of the left.

That’s a good sign, as the costs of defensive medicine brought on by the broken malpractice system, should be addressed if there is any hope of reducing health care spending.
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Will reforming the malpractice system be a deal breaker for health reform?

Tom Brady and his knee infection

Uncategorized
October 23, 2008

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady recently underwent repair of his anterior cruciate ligament at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. His doctor was Neal S. ElAttrache, who’s a renowned orthopedic surgeon and former team physician of an NFL team.

Unfortunately, his post-op course has been complicated by an infection. On his website, TomBrady.com, he acknowledged this and said that the original procedure was …

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Tom Brady and his knee infection

My take: What makes a good medical blog?

Uncategorized
May 2, 2008

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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My take: What makes a good medical blog?

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