How can physicians and patients find reliable information?

The New York Times had two articles in two different sections that together highlighted the problems both physicians and patients can encounter in accessing reliable health information. In the first article, the "Room for Debate" feature in the Opinion section, several contributors debated whether direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising should be banned. The second article in the Health section examined the use of ghostwriters in medical journals, and the lack of disclosure when pharmaceutical companies sponsor journal articles.

Both articles, and the accompanying comments, demonstrate the desire and need for both physicians and patients to find reliable health information. But that task is often difficult. The argument often presented in favor of direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads is that they make information available and accessible to the patient. But that information is obviously one-sided, and some fear that the ads interfere with another important source of information: the patient's physician. Physicians on the other hand, turn to medical journals to find the latest in medical research. But when articles are influenced by pharmaceutical companies, with or without disclosure of that influence, it makes it all the harder for physicians to discern which new practices are best. Both articles demonstrate the need for transparent communication, whether it is transparency in advertising or transparency in research. But that transparency is easier said than achieved.