As noted by our former editor, David Woods, euphemisms have been referred to as verbal placebos – a way of discussing unpleasant topics in a more palatable manner. But do euphemisms really change the way we think? And should Health economists be encouraged to use them when discussing their economics research of medical topics?
Medicine is not an exact science, so patients are left to understand its nuances without a basic primer in statistics. How do patients understand risk and make their health care decisions? Part of it involves delusion.
‘Ghostwriting’ is a contentious issue among both medical practitioners and medical writers. Outside these circles, this issue typically only surfaces when either a politician decides to deplore it or a pharmaceutical company is implicated.
You can prove just about anything with statistics. We’ve seen this in polls, politics, and policy. Even in health economics, caveat emptor.
In our world of bullet points, tweets, and soundbites, the celebrated Information Age has exploded into Information Hysteria for many would-be patients. We explore how patients can consider nuanced medical arguments in a world of reductive news and argumentation.
Everyone loves a bargain but Americans, in particular, are voracious of consumers of, well, just about everything. In our age of budget deficits and exploding healthcare costs, what motivates both doctors and patients to continue pushing healthcare spending through the roof?
There’s been much rattling of chains lately on the subject of ghost writing in medical journals. David Woods, PhD, a writer and former journal editor discusses the lack of clarity on what is an author, a ghost author, and a guest author.
By David Woods (hmi3000@comcast.net) The European Union is moving to strengthen rights of EU patients to seek care in countries other than their own, while the UK government has stated…
By David Woods (hmi3000@comcast.net) With healthcare in the US consuming about 16% of GNP, or around 2 trillion dollars a year, and still leaving an estimated 47 million people uninsured,…
By David Woods (david.woods@rxcomms.com) Drug company Eli Lilly has said that it will start disclosing the amounts of money over $500 that it pays to physicians – and other firms…
