Medicine and Man

The television medical drama Grey’s Anatomy apparently has more to offer than Patrick Dempsey’s rakish smile and a good cry. A new survey reports watching the show also may increase a viewer’s health smarts.

There is a lot of inaccurate information on television. According to this survey people remember health information imparted on TV, probably more so than given to them in their doctor’s office. Using the television media responsibly and effectively may increase public awareness of diseases and encourage healthy behavior.

The same goes for print media. Influential magazines should research medical articles before jumping to an opinion. The most recent example is an article in Time Magazine – Gastric bypass surgery less helpful for diabetics. A very catchy but misleading title. To the writer’s credit she did include this conversation with Dr. Hamdy:

I believe that the benefits of gastric bypass surgery outweigh any risk that a patient will have,” says Hamdy. “If you look at the mortality in relation to obesity itself, especially if it occurs with diabetics, that is much, much higher than the risk of mortality from the surgery.

… but it is included at the end of the article.

In my opinion the title should have been more appropriately worded as it gives an impression that gastric bypass surgery may not help in diabetes.

A lot of furore is ongoing on controlling health blogs and their content. However, the print media has a greater reach and authority than most blogs in influencing health related decisions for patients. Therefore they should carry equal if not greater social responsibility than health blogs.

Reference: USA Today, Time, ACP Internist Blog