Chewing over the Churnalism: PLoS Medicine in NHS Choices

“Few things can make a doctor’s heart sink more in a clinic than a patient brandishing a newspaper clipping”, wrote Ben Goldacre in an article in the BMJ last year. (Especially if that clipping is from the Daily Mail, which has acquired such a reputation for dividing the world up into things that either cause or cure cancer that a blog – the Daily Mail Oncology Ontological Project – is dedicated to keeping a vigilant record). Journalistic reporting of health studies was evaluated in a recent analysis in PLoS Medicine. Looking at 500 medical news stories that covered treatments, tests, products, and procedures, Gary Schwitzer, Publisher of HealthNewsReview.org, found that most stories failed to adequately address the costs, harms, benefits and the existence of other treatments options. PLoS Medicine's related editorial... [read full story]