Medical Journalism and communication has become sensationalistic. Potentially beneficial results are overhyped and harmful possibilities simply brushed under the rug. Positive findings are around twice as likely to be published as negative findings. When a new drug gets tested, the results of the trials should be published for the rest of the medical world — except much of the time, negative or inconclusive findings go unreported, leaving doctors and researchers in the dark.
Medical Journalism and communication has become sensationalistic. Potentially beneficial results are overhyped and harmful possibilities simply brushed under the rug. Positive findings are around twice as likely to be published as negative findings. When a new drug gets tested, the results of the trials should be published for the rest of the medical world — except much of the time, negative or inconclusive findings go unreported, leaving doctors and researchers in the dark. In this impassioned talk, Ben Goldacre explains why these unreported instances of negative data are especially misleading and dangerous.