Last year I wrote about how real life TV doctor Christian Jessen didn't do as well as fictional tv doctor Gregory House.
Background: Dr Christian works for a private company offering screening tests. These aren't diagnostic tests. A diagnostic test is when you have a symptom - a lump in your breast say. A test is to try and diagnose what that might be. A screening test is when you have no symptoms but are screened anyway. Screening tests carry risks, and can do more harm than good. I do not know if Dr Christian directly makes money from a harmful practice, or merely works for a company that does.
I saw this conversation on twitter:
I asked Dr McCartney how she had been misrepresented, to which she replied:
It's distressing that someone whose "main aim is to help raise medical awareness and simplify, demystify, de-stigmatise and explain the sometimes complicated and inaccessible world of medicine to the public" is doing such a shoddy job when it comes to screening tests, and is not even entering into a conversation with Dr McCartney, especially given her stirling work that mirrors his main aim.
So, as small as my voice may be, I urge you to ignore Dr Christian's output, and go and check out http://privatehealthscreen.org/ and maybe pop down to your library or book shop and check out The Patient Paradox, and if you're contemplating a screening test, check out the risks involved - it seems that doctors who work for companies offering them won't tell you after all.
UPDATE: Dr McCarteny's article in the Independent about the smear test.
Background: Dr Christian works for a private company offering screening tests. These aren't diagnostic tests. A diagnostic test is when you have a symptom - a lump in your breast say. A test is to try and diagnose what that might be. A screening test is when you have no symptoms but are screened anyway. Screening tests carry risks, and can do more harm than good. I do not know if Dr Christian directly makes money from a harmful practice, or merely works for a company that does.
I saw this conversation on twitter:
I asked Dr McCartney how she had been misrepresented, to which she replied:
It's distressing that someone whose "main aim is to help raise medical awareness and simplify, demystify, de-stigmatise and explain the sometimes complicated and inaccessible world of medicine to the public" is doing such a shoddy job when it comes to screening tests, and is not even entering into a conversation with Dr McCartney, especially given her stirling work that mirrors his main aim.
So, as small as my voice may be, I urge you to ignore Dr Christian's output, and go and check out http://privatehealthscreen.org/ and maybe pop down to your library or book shop and check out The Patient Paradox, and if you're contemplating a screening test, check out the risks involved - it seems that doctors who work for companies offering them won't tell you after all.
UPDATE: Dr McCarteny's article in the Independent about the smear test.
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