Responding to Misinformation

By John Halamka and Paul CerratoThe singer/songwriter Paul Simon once penned the lyrics: A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest (The Boxer). If that ’s the case, how do we respond to misinformation that contradicts the data/evidence guiding development of treatment and cures?  If the only audience willing to read such articles are already critical thinkers, perhaps we are just preaching to the choir. And if by chance, a person who believes in controversial ideas does read articles based on real world evidence, will they consider them a one-sided discussion by the “medical-industrial establishment?” In our soon-to-be published book, The Digital Reconstruction of Healthcare (HIMSS/CRC Press), we discuss this dilemma at length. Here are a few highlights from that analysis. There is evidence to justify at least some mistrust among the public. For example, when physicians were asked what treatment recommendations they would make for patients and what decisions they would make for themselves if they were in similar circumstances, investigators found the clinicians would have made different choices for themselves: “Among those asked to consider our colon cancer scenario (n=242), 37.8% chose the treatment with a higher death rate for themselves but only 24.5% recommended this treatment to a hypothetical patient.’’(1) Even more concerningly are reports that suggest many medical procedures continue to be p erformed despite la...
Source: Life as a Healthcare CIO - Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs