Here are some questions that might help you weigh up the information you find in the media or on the Internet about treatments. You could show these questions to your doctor.
• How could this treatment help me? Has it been studied in people like me?
• Is it likely that this drug will harm me? Am I more likely to get side effects than other people? (For example, older people sometimes have more side effects.)
• Who is telling me about this treatment? Is there a reason they want to tell me how good it is? (Sometimes doctors are paid by companies to say good things about their drugs and products.)
• How strong is the evidence that this treatment works? Are the results of a study published in a medical journal? Is just one person telling their story on television?
• What are the alternatives to the treatment being offered?
• What are the costs of the treatment? (These can include such things as inconvenience, not just financial costs.)
• http://besttreatments.bmj.com/btuk/home.jsp
Doctor, Did You Wash Your Hands? ™ provides information to consumers on understanding, managing and navigating health care options.
Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H., is Clinical Professor, Preventive Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; and Adjunct Professor, Baruch College ( C.U.N.Y.), Rutgers School of Public Health, and Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration.
This blog shares general information about understanding and navigating the health care system. For specific medical advice about your own problems, issues and options talk to your personal physician.