Improving the Accuracy of Medical News Reporting
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featured articles

The Australian

"New drug could transform the treatment of hepatitis C"

The Australian

26 Apr 2008

Rating: (3 stars)

RADICALLY improved treatments for one of the world's worst health scourges are looking more likely after scientists reported patients were cured more quickly and more often if an experimental new drug was added to the normal therapy.
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7:30 Report

"New hope for Maroteaux-Lamy sufferers"

7:30 Report

25 Apr 2008

Rating: (3 stars)

Just five years ago Bowen Oliver was barely able to walk 50 metres. Today, thanks to ground-breaking Australian research, this 15-year-old and his family are looking forward to a future that was previously unimaginable.
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The Australian

"Device a recipe for cheaper, faster IVF"

The Australian

22 Apr 2008

Rating: (2½ stars)

A NEW approach to fertility treatment that could allow women to have a cheaper form of IVF in their lunch hour is being developed.
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Herald Sun

"Anti-heroin drug bagged"

Herald Sun

21 Apr 2008

Rating: (2½ stars)

USE of a controversial stomach implant designed to block the effects
of heroin must be urgently reined in, according to drug specialists who say
addicts are being harmed.
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The Australian

"New drug shrinks breast cancer"

The Australian

18 Apr 2008

Rating: (1½ stars)

A NEW breast cancer drug has shown impressive results in shrinking tumours before surgery.
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ninemsn

"Experimental drug shrinks advanced skin cancer"

ninemsn

15 Apr 2008

Rating: (4½ stars)

An experimental drug designed to block a specific cell-signaling pathway has been shown in a small trial to shrink tumors in patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma.
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Herald Sun

"Mouth test could predict lung cancer, study finds"

Herald Sun

14 Apr 2008

Rating: (3½ stars)

DAMAGE to cells lining the mouth can predict similar damage in the lungs that eventually leads to lung cancer in smokers, US researchers reported today.
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Sydney Morning Herald

"Pfizer warns of lung cancer link with inhaled insulin"

Sydney Morning Herald

10 Apr 2008

Rating: (2½ stars)

US drugmakers Pfizer Inc and Nektar Therapeutics on Wednesday warned of cases of lung cancer in clinical trials of their inhaled insulin Exubera.
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Daily Telegraph

"Tai chi helps in managing diabetes"

Daily Telegraph

09 Apr 2008

Rating: (2 stars)

THE ancient art of tai chi may help in controlling or lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, two small studies in Taiwan and Australia suggest.
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Daily Telegraph

"Human bird flu vaccine approved"

Daily Telegraph

03 Apr 2008

Rating: (2½ stars)

BEIJING has given the go-ahead to a Chinese drugmaker to begin large-scale production of a human bird flu vaccine, after a second clinical trial showed the vaccine was safe and effective, the company said today.
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ninemsn

"Home defibrillators don't lift survival"

ninemsn

02 Apr 2008

Rating: (5 stars)

Having a defibrillator at home does not protect heart attack survivors against a cardiac arrest any better than having someone at home with good cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, US researchers say.
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The Australian

"Drugs 'cut fatal strokes by 40pc'"

The Australian

01 Apr 2008

Rating: (4 stars)

PRESCRIBING common drugs that lower blood pressure to people aged over 80 cuts the risk they will die after a stroke by nearly 40 per cent and slashes rates of heart failure by over half.
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ninemsn

"New drug offers hope to leukemia victims"

ninemsn

01 Apr 2008

Rating: (3 stars)

A new drug under development by a listed Australian company could soon bring hope to sufferers of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
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recent articles

news

Media Doctor Upgrades

28 Nov 2007

Due to work being conducted to improve Media Doctor there will be some interruptions to the posting...
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Complementary and alternative medicine on Media Doctor

23 Oct 2007

Media Doctor is currently working on analysing its news stories on complementary and alternative...
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Price of drugs to consumers in Australia

10 Jul 2007

One of our correspondents correctly raises the question of the cost of drugs to consumers in...
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Over 1000 stories rated by Media Doctor Australia

23 Jun 2007

There are 1047 stories on the site covering the full range of medical interventions, ranging from...
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what media doctor is

Media Doctor is a website dedicated to improving the accuracy of media reports about new medical treatments.

Media Doctor reviews current news items about medical treatments, assesses their quality using a standardised rating scale and presents reviews of good and bad examples of reports on this website. It is anticipated that these independent and objective critiques will improve journalistic practices in reporting new medications and treatments in Australia.
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what media doctor is not

Media Doctor does not provide medical advice, and does not assess the quality of the evidence on which the stories are based; instead we concentrate on the articles themselves. For more information on the treatments featured on this site, visit our links page.

who is media doctor?

The team behind Media Doctor consists of a group of academics and clinicians from the Newcastle Institute of Public Health, who have an interest in promoting better and more accurate reporting in the area of medical treatments.
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upcoming articles

  • "'Pixie dust' allows man's severed finger to grow back"

    ABC Health Online

  • "'Pig powder' regrows man's fingertip"

    Sydney Morning Herald

  • "New drug a breath of fresh air for Harry"

    The Age

  • "New pill puts romance and spontaneity back into sex"

    Sydney Morning Herald

  • "Daily sex pill to revive spontaneity"

    ninemsn

  • "Chemo leaves behind cancer cells"

    Daily Telegraph

  • "Brain boosters the drug of choice for the anxious intellectual"

    The Age

  • "Aspirin cuts risk of breast cancer"

    Daily Telegraph