About Us

What is HealthNewsReview.org?

The mission of HealthNewsReview.org is to improve the public dialogue about health care by helping consumers critically analyze claims about health care interventions and by promoting the principles of shared decision-making reinforced by accurate, balanced and complete information about the tradeoffs involved in health care decisions. HealthNewsReview.org evaluates health care journalism, advertising, marketing, public relations and other messages that may influence consumers and provides criteria that consumers can use to evaluate these messages themselves. Improving the quality and flow of health care news and information to consumers can be a significant step towards meaningful health care reform.

How is HealthNewsReview.org funded?

The funding for HealthNewsReview.org is provided by the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation. However, the Foundation has no influence over the editorial operation of the project.

This is the Foundation’s mission statement:

To Inform and Amplify the Patient’s Voice in Health Care Decisions

This means all patients should:

Be supported and encouraged to participate in their health care decisions.

Be fully informed about their care options using accurate, unbiased and understandable information.

Have their personal goals and concerns honored.

We believe that the only way to ensure high quality medical decisions are made is for a fully informed patient to participate in a shared decision making process with his/her health care provider.

Where did the idea come from?

This website is modeled, in large part, upon the pioneering effort begun by an Australian team that launched the Media Doctor Australia website in 2004. We are grateful to David Henry and the Media Doctor team for sharing their ideas and perspectives with us. The Australian effort has also been the inspiration for a Media Doctor Canada site, whose publisher, Alan Cassels, has been very helpful in guiding us. Other sites are now active in Germany, Hong Kong and Japan.

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