If you didn’t see it, you should. It begins: “If you want to know why health care costs so much in this country, consider this, it’s estimated that $210 billion a year — about 10 percent of all health expenditures — goes towards unnecessary tests and treatments and a big chunk of that comes right [...]
One of our readers tipped us off to what he called “a new poster child for overtreatment.” We’ll call it disease-mongering. It’s the website of the drug company promoting Zicam. The new pitch promotes Zicam for “pre-colds.” What’s a Pre-Cold™?, the website asks, anticipating our astute question. Well, as you can see, it’s a term [...]
Two weeks ago today we posted some concerns that have been raised about the Movember campaign. Update: A friend who lives in Manhattan sent me an email he’d received: Come join us as our chefs Jarett Broddie and Jair Solis face off with Jay Silva of Boston in a battle of food, brawn, and moustaches. [...]
As the Affordable Care Act – the health reform bill – is shaped and defined, all sorts of “carve out your turf” battles are being waged on many levels not only in Washington, but in individual states. One caught our eye this morning: A Denver Post story, “Suit sets up clash between day-surgery centers and [...]
A report by The New England Center for Investigative Reporting – published by the Washington Post – is headlined, “Many health apps are based on flimsy science at best, and they often do not work.” It begins: “When the iTunes store began offering apps that used cellphone light to cure acne, federal investigators knew that [...]
A joint news release from the BMJ and the BBC states: (Sorry I can’t do more than post the news release for now. I’m traveling.) With the biggest sporting event in the world just a week away, a joint investigation by the BMJ and BBC Panorama has found that there is “a striking lack of [...]
The following is a guest post by Kevin Lomangino, one of our story reviewers on HealthNewsReview.org. He is an independent medical journalist and editor who is currently Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Nutrition Insight, a monthly evidence-based newsletter which reviews the scientific literature on nutrition for physicians and dietitians. He tweets as @Klomangino. ———————————————– With the summer [...]
I got a news release recently offering the chance to interview the doctor who “Performed Stem Cell Therapy on New York Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon.” The news release says the doctor was “eager to discuss”: How can stem cell therapy help you function better? How can stem cell therapy offset the signs and symptoms of [...]
Here’s a glimpse of just some of the commentary on NY mayor Bloomberg’s call for a ban on supersized soda in any public place regulated by the city health department. It’s become a battle of clever headlines: Soda Jerk Soda Plan Fizzles Sugar Daddy City Health Weasels Go “Pop” On Philly.com, William Saletan called Bloomberg [...]
Kudos to Gregory Warner of Marketplace and colleagues for creating this video. I thought I’d posted this months ago, but apparently forgot. Never too late.
Better than a competing piece by Reuters but still a little short on some details about this asthma drug study.
An adequate summary of this asthma drug trial’s design doesn’t make up for the overly optimistic tone about the drug’s future. A New York Times story was better.
This story focuses on a family that may have a rare genetic mutation that increases their risk of heart disease. Unfortunately, the “rare” part wasn’t mentioned until 1,600 words into this 2,100 word story.
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