Readers who use the linkedin.com social networking site may be interested to know that I’ve started a “Medical Decision Making” group for “People who are engaged in the study of medical decision making, including members of the Society for Medical Decision Making.” The group is open to any LinkedIn member to join. Just visit the […]
MDM:APG fala o português
I’m pleased to announce that Medical Decision Making: A Physician’s Guide will soon (well, within 2 years) be available in a Portuguese language edition from Editora Guanabara Koogan SA/GEN in Brazil. Any translation is exciting, but I’m particularly happy about this because I had the great pleasure of spending five weeks teaching Brazilian health care […]
Making Veterinary Decisions
Many patients in many countries don’t pay the full cost of their medical care, which makes cost a less important factor in medical decision making, for both many patients and many physicians. On the other hand, nearly everyone pays the full cost of their veterinary care, and taking your pet to the vet is a […]
Symposia from SJDM/SMDM online
The 2008 annual meetings of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making (SJDM) and the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) included a “symposium exchange”. A symposium by SJDM members was presented at SMDM 2008 (Pennsylvania, PA) and a symposium by SMDM members was presented at SJDM 2008 (Chicago, IL). At least one of the […]
Improving decisions through lemonade
I’ve just come back from the annual meeting of the Society for Judgment and Decision Making. One of the most interesting talks, by Roy Baumeister, demonstrated the power of lemonade to reduce decision biases.
GUT decision-making
I was recently at a workshop for National Science Foundation Principal Investigators focused on how to communicate research to the public and the media. One of the suggestions was to develop a three-word summary of the principle message of your research work. This is hard.
Evidence-based diagnosis
I’m writing from Philadelphia, at the annual meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making. I’ve just had the pleasure of attending a great short course entitled “How to discuss evidence-based diagnosis with experienced clinicians (and avoid giving EBM at bad name)”, taught by Tom Newman and Mike Kohn from UCSF.
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 […]