On medical news, is the reporting healthy?

"The vast majority of the public gets its knowledge about health and medical matters not from health professionals, but from newspapers, radio, television and the Internet. Even physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other experts look to the news media for the latest developments and controversies that could be of concern to patients.

There is a belief -- backed up not by scientific evidence but by anecdote -- that media reports are highly influential on consumer behaviour.

When there are breathless stories about new "miracle" drugs, such as with the breast cancer drugs Herceptin, patients clamour to get them quickly. And when there are damning reports, such as the risks of heart disease and breast cancer posed by hormone replacement therapy, sales can plummet.

Given this power, this potential to affect the bottom line of big pharmaceutical companies and, more important, the health of many consumers, the media have a responsibility to produce fair, balanced and informed health stories.

But do they?"

Read more in the Globe and Mail.