http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/ THIS BLOG - AT THIS ADDRESS WILL BE DISCONTINUED WITHIN A FEW WEEKS. IN 20 SECONDS YOU WILL BE REDIRECTED to my new blog on the HealthNewsReview.org site. PLEASE BOOKMARK THE NEW BLOG SITE. ]]> en-us 2009-12-21T11:52:07-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/the-us-most-act.html Since September 2004 this has been my home for blogging about health journalism, health care, health policy, health care advertising and marketing, etc. Now it's time to shut it down. I've moved my blogging activities to http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/, which I encourage... schwitz 2009-12-21T11:52:07-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/cancer-center-a.html Natasha Singer of the New York Times has an important story on cancer center advertising, including embedding actual radio, TV and print ads in the online version of the article. http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2009/12/nyt-story-examines-criticism-of-cancer-center-ads.html... Business of health schwitz 2009-12-19T09:01:28-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/wisdom-of-the-c-1.html Yesterday we commented on a hospital chaplain/blogger who critiqued a troublesome health news story. Today we bring you the comment of a reader (who happens to have had back pain for a long time) who questions the balance and integrity... Health care journalism schwitz 2009-12-18T14:06:42-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/clergyman-blogg.html I love it when I see smart people blogging their critiques of health care news coverage. So I say "Hallelujah" in response to a hospital-chaplain-blogger's rant about a news story run by CNN and Health.com that made his skin crawl.... Disease mongering schwitz 2009-12-17T14:34:14-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/the-most-jumble.html I've seen a lot of awful news coverage on breast cancer screening in the past month or so, but the award (so far) for the worst, most useless, misinformation goes to the CBS Early Show. See why. http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2009/12/cbs-early-shows-confusing-breast-screening-info.html... Consumer anger/confusion schwitz 2009-12-17T10:52:26-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/time-to-tone-do.html Physician-bioethicist Jeffrey Hall Dobken suggests that "perhaps we can tone down the sky-is-falling just a bit" on H1N1. And he includes news coverage in his review of the "tension...reinforced by the endless health warnings." http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2009/12/bioethicist-worries-about-crying-wolf-over-h1n1.html... H1N1 schwitz 2009-12-16T11:44:28-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/understanding-t.html The National Breast Cancer Coalition is offering an online webcast tomorrow to clear up confusion on the recent USPSTF breast cancer screening recommendations. They ask that interested parties register today. The webcast is Thursday, December 17 at 3 pm Eastern... Consumer anger/confusion schwitz 2009-12-16T10:20:26-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/local-tv-news-l.html http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2009/12/the-trifecta-of-tv-health-news-stories-scanners-screening-reporter-involvement.html... Health care journalism schwitz 2009-12-15T16:39:45-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/editorial-says.html http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2009/12/questions-about-coronary-artery-calcium-ct-scans.html... Health care journalism schwitz 2009-12-14T16:57:39-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/healthmedical-j.html In the past two weeks, I've discovered three examples of health/medical stories apparently being lifted directly from news releases. One on WebMD and two on HealthDay - here and here. This isn't journalism. In fact, in some of these cases,... Health care journalism schwitz 2009-12-10T14:03:21-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/cbs-sanjay-gupt.html Warm, touching, but inadequate story of a pro football player's daughter and her path to a heart transplant. The story claims that a heart pump saved the girl's life - when that can't be proven. It also didn't discuss costs,... FDA schwitz 2009-12-10T12:26:12-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/cnn-anchor-endo.html Amazing. Do they plan this editorializing in editorial meetings as a way to compete with/resemble Fox News? http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2009/12/cnn-fear-mongering-screening-advocacy-on-kids-hearts-tests.html... schwitz 2009-12-09T20:28:19-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/tamiflu-trouble.html As British physician-writer Ben Goldacre put it: "Tamiflu is pretty marginal as a treatment, and crap as prophylaxis: as we basically already knew."... schwitz 2009-12-08T15:05:45-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/strib---usually.html The Star Tribune, which has done a fine job reporting on University of Minnesota medical school conflict of interest issues, bombed on a story about problems with the FDA's medical device approval process - largely because it failed to counter... Conflicts of interest schwitz 2009-12-08T12:23:55-06:00 http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/12/mixed-results-i.html See our review of stories by ABC, CNN, CBS and Houston Chronicle: http://www.healthnewsreview.org/blog/2009/12/failure-to-scrutinize-claims-about-screening-all-us-sixth-graders-hearts.html What's up with all of the aggressive heart screening programs in Texas? (For example, see this past blog entry: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/schwitz/healthnews/2009/09/texas-law-manda-1.html.) Don't they have a lot of uninsured... Health care journalism schwitz 2009-12-07T14:09:48-06:00