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December 5, 2005
How Gullible ARE Doctors?
Pretty gullible. Read this article about a fake in a medical journal. The journal may or may not (the article is kind of obtuse - they evade the usual thing of using the faker's title of doctor [perhaps they're now learning some caution?]) be the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Read the bizzaro-world journalistic balance statements, like: Leonard Fleck, a Michigan State University medical ethicist, said Pearlman's lack of disclosure in the original study made it impossible for other scientists to test his methods. They called in a medical ethicist to tell them that? Did the author of the article call a medical ethicist? The journal seems to have known they had a problem, but ran it anyway. Weird all around.
What I learned from this: ask my doctor where he learned about the exciting new treatment he's suggesting. If it was in a non-peer reviewed medical journal article, walk away.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at December 5, 2005 6:43 AM