Dr. Buttery's Public Health BLOG

Don' t trust what you read in the news media. In PLoS Medicine Gary Schwitzer reviews 500 stories published by major media. Among his conclusions were that:
The daily delivery of news stories about new treatments, tests, products, and procedures may have a profound—and perhaps harmful—impact on health care consumers.
That journalists usually fail to discuss costs, the quality of the evidence, the existence of alternative options, and the absolute magnitude of potential benefits and harms.
As a result even careful reading of news stories, without examining the source of the data may be harmful to readers, and those they care for. The internet will usually provide links to the original research where the reader can look for the quality of the data.

Posted by at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Physicians who score poorly on patient-physician communication skills exams are far more likely to generate patient complaints to regulatory authorities, says a new study led by McGill University’s Robyn Tamblyn and published in the September 5 issue of JAMA. Tamblyn’s team followed 3,424 physicians licensed to practice in Ontario and Quebec who took the Medical Council of Canada clinical skills examination between 1993 and 1996. They discovered a very strong relationship between those who scored poorly and later complaints by patients. There is no reason to suppose the same situation does not prevail in the U.S.

Posted by at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

FDA today announced two new initiatives to enhance online communications. A Web page, "Consumer Health Information for You and Your Family, provides comprehensive and timely consumer information. A free monthly e-newsletter, FDA Consumer Health Information, will alert consumers to content contained on the page.

Posted by at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (41)