The annual Medicare open enrollment period ends soon. America’s seniors have faced a blizzard of dismaying news about the program. Here are some excerpts from newsworthy stories that you should be aware of. The $11 Million Dollar Medicare Tool That Gives Seniors the Wrong Insurance Information – Pro Publica. Excerpt: “The federal government recently redesigned […]
While somewhere there is still some important investigative reporting going on in some local TV stations, here is a fresh warning to anyone who gets much of their health care information from local TV health news. A recent case in point – seen on television stations across the country – is news about a minimally […]
Two months from now we will be in mid-winter, late January. How about four days in warm, sunny West Palm Beach, Florida? All-expenses-paid. How inviting. But how troubling. Once again. An email was sent to journalists this week announcing this junket funded by Bayer, a multinational drug company. Bayer markets a number of cardiovascular drugs […]
Once again the lure of a “simple” test has made headlines. This time the catalyst was a news release issued by the UK’s National Cancer Research Institute. Its title: “Simple blood test for early detection of breast cancer.” In fact, no such test exists. As the body of the PR news release acknowledged, it’s an […]
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is over for another year. But it’s not too late to reflect on, and learn from, one of the most troublesome breast center marketing ideas in recent memory. As described in stories all over the globe, including in the Washington Post, the NBC Today Show website, People magazine, Adweek, and Fox News, a […]
Most new cancer treatments haven’t been proven to help patients live longer or feel better. Instead they delay the growth of tumors — which may be faster to measure but doesn’t necessarily indicate a tangible benefit for patients. But you wouldn’t grasp that sobering fact from some recent news coverage: A headline in the UK’s […]
For the past 11 years, HealthNewsReview.org has helped journalists find industry-independent experts to use as sources in their stories. It’s an effort begun by journalists Jeanne Lenzer and Shannon Brownlee (now a VP at the Lown Institute), but joined by me and Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD, of Georgetown not long after. You can read more about […]
Fact-checking has become one of the buzziest buzzwords in journalism. There are more than 100 fact-checking projects around the world. It’s been trotted out to counter alleged “fake” news. And to monitor the accuracy of political leaders who stretch the boundaries of believability. April 2 has been proclaimed International Fact-Checking Day. Indeed, genuine fact-checking may play an important […]
The title of the article that appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine was too tempting for many journalists – “Blindness Caused By A Junk Food Diet.” It was an article about the experience of one teenage boy. Stories were rushed to publication by CBS, TIME, NBC, USA Today, The Guardian, WebMD, Newsweek and countless […]
As a kid, I remember the song, “June is bustin’ out all over” from the musical Carousel. These days, June is Men’s Health Month, and with it comes some helpful reminders. But Twitter is bustin’ out all over with balderdash, baloney and BS on many men’s health topics. If you visit the #MensHealthMonth hashtag on […]
Opinions on other issues in news, journals, PR, advertising, marketing
Media coverage of a recent study is generating unwarranted hype about supplemental screening for cancer for women with dense breasts. https://lowninstitute.org/news/blog/media-misleads-on-mri-screening-for-breast-cancer/
Happy to see that my @HealthNewsRevu blog about progression-free survival confusion has been reposted by @kevinmd. https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2019/12/most-new-cancer-treatments-havent-been-proven-to-help-patients-live-longer-or-feel-better.html via @kevinmd
We are all worse off for not having @garyschwitzer's excellent, daily health care reporting, but his story today should sound the alarms and be a warning to anyone who gets health care information from local TV health news (read: much of America) (1/2) https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2019/11/why-hire-a-full-time-health-reporter-when-you-can-buy-news-off-the-shelf/#.Xeank0LWjyA.twitter
Tips & Resources for Analyzing Health Care Claims
