Elsewhere on the site this week, we reviewed several news stories about claims for a new “laxative-free colonoscopy.” Here’s more on alternatives to traditional colonoscopy in a guest post by Harold DeMonaco, MS – one of our expert editors on HealthNewsReview.org but also Director of the Innovation Support Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital. —————————————————————————– [...]
Larry Husten, publisher of Cardiobrief, posted on his blog, “Half the News That’s Fit To Print: NY Times On ECG Screening For Student Athletes.” He has allowed me to re-post the column here in its entirety. There may be no more horrifying medical catastrophe than the sudden death of a young athlete on the playing [...]
Results of two studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine point to benefits of biennial mammography screening starting age 40 for women at increased risk. One evaluated data from 66 published articles and from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. The authors’ conclusion: Extremely dense breasts and first-degree relatives with breast cancer were each associated [...]
The marketing of breast screening knows no bounds. A friend sent me this story, commenting, “Just wow.” And why would a plastic surgeon do breast exams? Follow the money.
From one great journalism conference to another, I’ve left Atlanta at the conclusion of another Association of Health Care Journalists national conference and going directly to Madison, Wisconsin for the UW’s “Science Writing in the Age of Denial.” It’s promoted as: “a conference and workshop for science writers to explore the phenomenon of denial and [...]
The following is a guest post from Harold DeMonaco, one of our expert editors on HealthNewsReview.org and Director of the Innovation Support Center at the Massachusetts General Hospital. ——————————————————————————————– When I went to my IGoogle homepage today I noticed a story on yet another lung cancer screening article. The story, in Oncology Nurse Advisor but [...]
(If you were looking for the “Choosing Wisely” campaign article, please click here. In the April 9 email digest that many of you receive, I inadvertently entered the wrong link – which has brought you to the article below instead. Although it’s a good one as well!) Dr. Margaret McCartney writes in the BMJ [...]
An updated analysis of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, is receiving a lot of news attention. And the competing, conflicting headlines are as clear as mud. In one corner, wearing the black-and-white trunks, and weighing in with a predominantly positive message: MSNBC goes [...]
A paper in the Annals of Family Medicine, “Lung Cancer Screening Practices of Primary Care Physicians: Results From a National Survey,” reports that: Primary care physicians in the United States frequently order lung cancer screening tests for asymptomatic patients, even though expert groups do not recommend it. Primary care physicians and patients need more information [...]
A Miami Herald story, heralds “Prostate cancer hits younger men.” You know right away how this one is going to play out. The story begins by profiling a 48-year old man with prostate cancer. It says his “doctor ordered the test as a routine practice for his male patients.” There isn’t any discussion about how [...]
A pretty good example of how to handle a small, early study of a new treatment. Benefits nicely quantified, good attention to limitations, and quotes were well calibrated.
The story fell short on many levels – most importantly, on breaking down the research and its significance for readers. This was a small clinical study with limitations.
Overall, this was an easy-to-follow summary. But there was a clear difference between this and a competing Boston Globe story, which did a better job offering context and analysis.
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