I've updated this Meetup. For more details, see the full listing:
http://www.meetup.com/The-New-York-Skeptics-Meetup-Group/calendar/10165677/
What: Taking The Science Out Of Medicine: Online Health Fiascos Revealed

When: May 9,[masked]:00 PM

Where: Click the link below to find out!

Meetup Description: Event organized by NYC Skeptics

Taking The Science Out Of Medicine: Online Health Fiascos Revealed

Dr. Val Jones will discuss her personal experiences with consumer health websites, and deconstruct their "good intentions" from a scientific perspective. She will review specific online tools meant to "empower consumers" and follow their misguided algorithms to their illogical conclusions. Dr. Jones will then remind the audience of the most common biases that are introduced into data analyses (from the Hawthorne effect to the placebo effect), and argue for redoubled efforts in health literacy (especially online), and improved science training in medical schools.

Val Jones, MD is the President and CEO of Better Health, PLLC, a health education company devoted to providing scientifically accurate health information to consumers. Most recently she was the Senior Medical Director of Revolution Health, a consumer health portal with over 120 million page views per month in its network. Prior to her work with Revolution Health, Dr. Jones served as the founding editor of Clinical Nutrition & Obesity, a peer-reviewed e-section of the online Medscape medical journal. Dr. Jones is also a consultant for Elsevier Science, ensuring the medical accuracy of First Consult, a decision support tool for physicians. Dr. Jones is the author of the popular blog, ?Dr. Val and the Voice of Reason,? which won The Best New Medical Blog award in 2007. Her cartoons have been featured at Medscape, the P&S Journal, and the Placebo Journal. She was inducted as a member of the National Press Club in Washington, DC in July, 2008.

*Please note: Due to another group using the lecture space later in the day, this lecture will begin PROMPTLY at 1:00 PM