October 20th, 2011 by GarySchwitzer in News, Opinion
No Comments »
MSNBC commits an egregious example of disease-mongering in a piece they headlined:
“Plastic surgeon wants to fix your ‘runner’s face’. “
What is so egregious? Let us count the ways:
• They pass along a plastic surgeon’s news release about his treatment for a condition he calls “runner’s face”.
• So it is a promotion for his treatment for a condition he has named. This is what is called “advertising” – not “journalism.”
• They provide no data.
• They describe Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
June 19th, 2011 by GarySchwitzer in Opinion, Research
2 Comments »
This week has been proclaimed International Men’s Health Week – the week leading up to and including Father’s Day. And it’s part of what’s more broadly been proclaimed by some as Men’s Health Month.
The campaign offers a variety of men’s health “materials” – including the squeezy prostate stress ball pictured at left – if you’re into that kind of thing.
There are also brochures like the one below. The “Facts About Prostate Cancer” state that men at high risk should begin yearly screening at age 40 – all others at age 50. The “should begin (at 50)” recommendation crosses a line not supported by the US Preventive Services Task Force and the American Cancer Society, among other organizations.
The campaign also commits fear-mongering with these statistics: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Gary Schwitzer's HealthNewsReview Blog*
January 15th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Opinion
No Comments »
Thanks to Medscape for including my take in their recent article, “Is Twitter a “must” for doctors?”
I discuss some common sense tips doctors should follow while using Twitter:
1. Patient privacy is paramount. Do not discuss individual cases or provide patient advice via Twitter.
2. Use Twitter to point your patients to trustworthy online health information sources.
3. Use Twitter as a tool to promote your practice’s brand. More and more patients are using Twitter; those who do are likely to feel positive about their physicians using it as well. More than just a fad, Pho says that Twitter is here to stay and offers tremendous potential.
4. Remind your patients using Twitter: Be careful whom you follow. Anyone can sign up for Twitter claiming to be a physician. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
