Joseph A. Hill|Stefan Agewall|Adrián Baranchuk|George W. Booz|Jeffrey S. Borer|Paolo G. Camici|Peng Sheng Chen|Anna F. Dominiczak|Çetin Erol|Cindy L. Grines|Robert J. Gropler|Tomasz J. Guzik|Markus Heinemann|Ami E. Iskandrian|Bradley P. Knight|Barry London|Thomas F. Lüscher|Marco Metra|Kiran Musunuru|Brahmajee K. Nallamothu|Andrea Natale|Sanjeev Saksena|Michael H. Picard|Sunil V. Rao|Willem J. Remme|Robert S. Rosenson|Nancy K. Sweitzer|Adam Timmis|Christiaan Vrints
Medical misinformation: Vet the message!
mrs jones based risk factors heart attack recommend start statinno thank doctor ive read many scary things drugs internet plus worry profession make recommendations reasons personal financial gain also found online undoubtedly majority cardiologists conversations like urging patient take statin powerful cholesterollowering drug robust mortality benefit part reason oftentimes brainer recommendations rejected derives widely disseminated incorrect information vastly overstates risks drugs course like anything life statin use entirely riskfree application always entail thoughtful analysis risks vs benefits patients recognize benefits statin use invisible didnt heart attack stroke past year whereas small typically reversible risks eg muscle pain readily apparent many patients would benefit statin use take cardiovascular disease 1 killer men women around world robust scientific advances published pages journals fostered significant improvements benefit individuals society yet cardiovascular disease continues transform emerging new forms heart failure struggle shifted new battlefields successes derive armamentarium powerful toolsmedicines devicesand awareness lifestylerelated hazards high blood pressure high cholesterol smoking sadly however take full advantage tools disposal one significant cause suboptimal utilization prodigious tool chest medical misinformation hyped internet television chat rooms social media many instances celebrities activists politicians convey false information uncommonly authors purely venal motives participate point numerous examples including entirely unfounded concerns regarding vaccinations notion mmr measles mumps rubella vaccination causes autism based single flawed study long since refuted publication retracted seventeen much larger properly controlled studies proven otherwise nevertheless internet shouts unfounded warnings celebrities actors activists politicians specific knowledge training use fame promote message causes serious harm individuals neither physicians scientists often specific agenda outsized influence lives dispute scientific evidence without ever studied it1offit pa bad advice celebrities politicians activists arent best source health information columbia university press new york2018crossref google scholar recognizing impossible prove never scientists appropriately couch statements statistical terms may come across public equivocation nuanced voices scientists often resonate public much strident alarms sounded people fame speaking absolute terms scientists appropriately skeptical individual scientist study wrong yet science ultimately selfcorrects scientist gets wrong happens people sometimes vilify entire selfcorrecting scientific enterprise trust aeronautical science board airplane trust science buried within cell phones trust mechanical engineering science cross bridge yet many uniquely skeptical biological science sadly cannot exclude professions science medicine act based motives driven financial considerations incomplete declarations potential conflict interest persist2orenstein c thomas k top cancer researcher fails disclose corporate financial ties major research journals new york times september 8 2018httpswwwnytimescom20180908healthjosebaselgacancermemorialsloanketteringhtmlgoogle scholar recent examples dramatic price hikes important medications reinforced notion indeed many physicians conversations patients believe recommendations stem least part prospect personal financial gain editorsinchief major cardiovascular scientific journals around globe sound alarm human lives stake pointing 2 examples elaborated people decline use statin recommended doctor parents withhold vaccines children put lives harms way media must better job unacceptable posit false equivalents discussions often done foster debate controversy easy find rogue voice inappropriate suggest voice carries weight emerging mainstream science easily point examples outside medical domain well climate change evolution nutraceuticals gmo foods false equivalents frequently posited furthermore recent evidence suggests misinformation travels faster social networks truth3vosoughi roy aral spread true false news onlinescience 2018 359 11461151crossref pubmed scopus 2859 google scholar must work enhance science literacy world one place start better job teaching scientific method schools lay public aware science accomplished fits starts end gets right purveyors social media must responsible content disseminate longer acceptable hide behind cloak platform editors charged evaluating validity science presented us possible publication work hard fulfill heady responsibility recognizing lives stake reach thoughtleading experts evaluate veracity report receive challenge social media leverage ready availability scienceconversant expertise disseminating content may reliable without exaggeration significant harm society individuals derives wanton spread medical misinformation high time stops lay feet purveyors internet social media content responsibility fix