Medical and health misinformation abounds, and it’s not going away. The government should do more to address some of the misinformation. But, as with all advertising and promotion, you need to assume that what you are hearing or seeing or reading might not be true, before acting on the information. Try to find independent sources you can trust.
There are a few trustworthy sources for determining whether a drug, vitamin supplement or medical device or medical service is safe and effective. For good information on health care and policy, I go to cochrane.org. Cochrane is a non-profit independent organization that studies all the available reliable data to determine what’s working or not working. For example, if you go to cochrane.org to look up different vitamin supplements, you’ll learn a lot about the lack of evidence that most of these supplements work.
If the question is whether a medical device is safe and effective, you can begin by looking on the Food and Drug Administration’s web site to see whether it has been recalled. Unfortunately, that won’t tell you the whole story because the FDA has not recalled some medical devices it has approved that can cause serious harm.
Similarly, there are lots of prescription drugs that are FDA-approved that may not be safe and effective.
Stat News reports on FDA action–truly inaction–to address a lot of misinformation. Some researchers argue the FDA must do more to police health information and ensure drug labels are accurate. At the same time, the researchers recognize that the FDA does not have the tools, resources or power to undertake this work.
In some cases, the FDA might be infringing on people’s free speech rights under the first amendment of the constitution. Moreover, the internet enables people to make inaccurate claims that reach tens of millions of people. “Counteradvertising,” as it is sometimes called, will never do enough to keep the misinformation from taking hold.
Here’s more from Just Care:
- Can you trust AARP when it comes to choosing a Medicare Advantage plan or health clinic?
- Medicare Open Enrollment: Don’t trust insurance agents
- Don’t trust a hospital’s advertisements
- Don’t trust Medicare nursing home star ratings
- Don’t trust Medicare’s Open Enrollment information
- Don’t trust your health plan’s provider directory
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