Choosing doctors, choosing patients

The September 30, 2008 New York Times has a new feature section on “Decoding your Health”, which includes, among other articles, “Searching for Clarify: A Primer on Medical Studies” by Gina Kolata, an outstanding science writer. It also includes “You Can Find Dr. Right, With Some Effort” by Roni Caryn Rabin, which offers sound advice […]

30th annual meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making

The 30th annual meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on October 18-22, 2008. All the relevant detail can be found at http://www.smdm.org. The meeting theme this year is “Comparative effectiveness research” – that’s research in how to (surprise) study the effectiveness of different medical treatments […]

Vaccines and evidence

Salon.com has recently reviewed a new book by pediatrician Dr. Paul Offit on the anti-MMR (and anti-thimerisol) vaccine movement. Back in February this year, a friend of mine wrote to me that she was “on the fence” about vaccinating her infant. As she put it, “Whom are we to believe?…I’d be interested in anything compelling […]