Monday, April 24, 2006

Things you should know about research stories

HealthNewsReview.org is an attempt to help improve the accuracy, balance and completeness of news stories that make claims about new ideas in health care.

The site includes this helpful information:

Each of the following themes comes up often in health news stories. When journalists explain these concepts so that consumers understand them, we’re all better off. Click each to learn more.

absolute vs. relative risk
number needed to treat
commercialism
single source stories
FDA approval not automatic
phases of drug trials
devices
animal studies...
more...

Monday, April 10, 2006

Chiropractic: In Their Own Words

In the April edition of Dynamic Chiropractic, columnist Craig Liebenson, DC, says the chiropractic profession "continues to suffer from an overemphasis on philosophical and hypothetical beliefs while reliable, evidence-based approaches are ignored."

Liebenson says that chiropractic has a "number of shortcomings which render us vulnerable to such a broad-based, progressive approach as enumerated by physical therapists. Our academic isolation is a major hurdle for us to overcome, as is our undying support for practice management models that do not emphasize evidence-based care and may even be unethical."

He continues, "Another issue is prioritizing our political goals to protectionist actions against physical therapy's scope of practice, rather than quality improvement of our own clinical approach to care."

"Physical therapists should be commended for their explicit work to improve their ability to care for patients," says Liebenson. "In summary, they have embraced evidence-based health care; movement disorders; the WHO framework for disabilities and impairments; peer-reviewed research; interdisciplinary dialogue; and MSc and PhD programs for their best and brightest."


Thanks to:
PT Bulletin Online