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Archive
Category: Radio InterviewsSunday House Call, #430, February 17, 2013
When Dr. Ben Goldacre was last on Sunday House Call, we were discussing his international bestseller, Bad Science. His recent book released on February 5, Bad Pharma, exposes the multitude of problems inherent in the drug approval process, the manner in which clinical studies are conducted, how negative outcomes in studies are hidden, the marketing of drugs, the influence upon academic institutions and publications to promote findings for particular drugs, and most importantly the potential harm and indeed real harm that has befallen many people because of the hidden data.
Dr. Ben Goldacre is a physician and writer.
Sunday House Call, #430, February 17, 2013: An interview with Dr. Ben Goldacre about his new book Bad Pharma Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadAfternoon Edition – Wednesday House Call January 2, 2013 Dr Barry Dworkin joins Rob Snow to take calls on medical matters from the CFRA Nation. Today: Bogus therapies and snake oil
Afternoon Edition - Wednesday House Call January 2, 2013 - Health Hucksterism Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadSunday House Call, #424, December 16, 2012
Special edition on atrial fibrillation and sudden cardiac death in athletes
Dr. Michael Gollob is a native of Toronto,Ontario, and obtained an undergraduate degree in molecular genetics at the University of Toronto, graduating as a Gold Medalist. He then entered the field of medicine and is now a Clinical Electrophysiologist at The University of Ottawa Heart Institute. His clinical and research interests combine his expertise in both genetics and arrhythmia disorders. He is the Director of The Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic and Arrhythmia Research Laboratory at the Ottawa Heart Institute.
Dr. Gollob’s research focuses on the genetic and physiological basis of cardiac arrhythmia syndromes, including sudden death syndromes and the common arrhythmia of atrial fibrillation. He has Chaired on behalf of the CCS the first document outlining the appropriate use of genetic testing for cardiac diseases associated with a risk of sudden death.
Sunday House Call, #424, December 16, 2012: Special edition on atrial fibrillation and sudden cardiac death in athletes Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Sunday House Call, #418, October 28, 2012 Will you be traveling to warmer locations during the winter months? If so, you should consider what you need to prevent illness when you are away from home in a foreign land. What do you need to do to prepare and when should you do it? What are [...]
Madely Health Headlines Commentary for July 30, 2012
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Sunday House Call, #404, July 8, 2012: Fizzy Sugar Water for the Masses
Last month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced his intention to introduce a restriction on soda pop (sugary drinks) cup sizes to no greater than 16 ounces that would affect locales such as city restaurants, stadiums, food carts and movie theatres.
This proposal has generated commentary ranged from total support to outright rejection by some groups. The debate has been framed by some as a health issue and that there must be a starting point to reverse the tide of calorie glut; the opposite of a death by a thousand cuts to better health by a thousand changes.
Others frame it as an assault on the freedom to choose what we want to eat and the government has no place restricting individual food choices.
But we do have a serious problem in society. Our environment is obesogenic, that is, it is designed to promote overconsumption of food: The location of fast food restaurants to the design of food aisles in grocery stores to the fact that in 2009 a study conducted by Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity found that we underestimate the extent of our exposure to junk food advertising and overestimate the degree to which health food is advertised.
The study reported in Timothy Caufield’s new book, The Cure for Everything: Untangling The Twisted Messages About Health, Fitness And Happiness that “carbonated beverages, fast food restaurants and breakfast cereals spent 18,182 times as much marketing to youth ($1.2 billion) compared to dairy, fruits and vegetables ($66,000 in total). Survey participants thought the average kid saw one to 3 junk food television advertisements a day. The actual number? Almost 15. That equals approximately 5500 yearly television messages about the yummy qualities of salt, sugar, and fat.
Joining us today is
Dan Gardner, Ottawa Citizen journalist and author of Risk: The Science and Politics of Fear and Future Babble Why Expert Predictions Fail – and Why We Believe Them Anyway
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, Medical Director of the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa and Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa
Sunday House Call, #404, July 8, 2012: Fizzy Sugar Water for the Masses Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadTalk Ottawa, May 31, 2012 Mark Sutcliffe discusses the impact of physician fee cuts with Dr. Barry Dworkin and on the effects on nursing care with Ann Clarke of the Ontario Nurses Association
An interview with Dr. David Jacobs, a radiologist at Humber River Regional Hospital, to discuss what kind of work Radiologists actually do and how the proposed provincial cuts could affect their services.
Sunday House Call, #400, June 3, 2012 On May 28, 2012 the Association of Ontario Neurologists (AON) expressed its concern that the McGuinty government’s cuts to payments for certain laboratory tests will result in diminished access to testing for patients suffering from neurological conditions. Joining us today is Dr Ranjit Singh, President of the Association [...]
On May 28, 2012, the Association of Ontario Neurologists (AON), expressed its concern that the McGuinty government’s unilateral cuts to payments for certain laboratory tests will result in diminished access for patients suffering from neurological conditions.
Joining us today is Dr Ranjit Singh, President of the Association of Ontario Neurologists
Association of Ontario Neurologists concerned how fee cuts for neurologic tests will affect patient care Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadLate night with John Counsell: Losing Family Doctors thanks to McGuinty’s health care decisions
May 17Late night with John Counsell, May 17, 2012
We discuss my reasons for posting this and how patient access to care and their doctor will suffer
Late night with John Counsell: Losing Family Doctors thanks to McGuinty's health care decisions Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadMadely in the Morning with Mark Sutcliffe May , 2012
How much does it cost to run a family practice? The answers Premier McGuinty won't tell you because he doesn't know Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadMark Sutcliffe is joined by Dr. Barry Dworkin, who is speaking out against the Ontario government slashing several hundred fees paid to doctors and its attempt to cut doctors’ pay. A discussion of the real costs to run a family practice and how looming cuts have the potential to turn back years of progress improving patient access to care.
Sunday House Call, #395, April 29, 2012 A discussion of what the latest Ontario Government decree will do to a patient’s access to family doctors and the health care system in general. It is not a pretty sight.
Sunday House Call, #395, April 27, 2012: The House of Cards is Collapsing Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadSunday House Call, #386, February 26, 2012 Special guest: Dr Yoni Freedhoff, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, University of Ottawa, and Medical Director of the Bariatric Medical Institute
Sunday House Call, #355, June 12, 2011 Increasingly through many media sources, health information and data from clinical studies and advisory panels among others has a tendency to be misrepresented, risk overinflated, and health scares oversold compared to what really can and does cause harm. This misinformation creates an incomplete picture of health risks and [...]
Special edition of Sunday House Call with Dr. Gilbert Ross of the American Council on Science and Health Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadMadely Health Headlines Commentary for March 8, 2011
Electronics and gadgets may contribute to sleep deprivation and disruption Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Sleep-deprived advised to turn off the technology
Sunday House Call, #327, November 7, 2010 Dan Gardner of the Ottawa Citizen joins Dr. Barry Dworkin to discuss his new book, Future Babble: Why Expert Predictions Fail – and Why We Believe Them Anyway and how careful thought must be given to any ‘definite’ answers.
Here in Ottawa, research continues to follow exciting avenues towards the goal of treating cancer. Innovative and elegant solutions are being applied in clinical trials. One such approach is the use of oncoviruses, viruses that target and destroy cancer cells leaving normal cells in peace. At the Ottawa Health Research Institute and the Ottawa Hospital [...]
Madely Health Headlines Commentary for September 2, 2010
Mouse studies indicate that diabetes medication may aid in the treatment of certain cancers Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadSource:
Madely Health Headlines Commentary for May 26, 2010
A primer on heat-related illness as Ottawa experiences its first heat wave of the season Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadSource:
Hot Weather Melting Temperature Records
Reference:
An interview with Dr. Yoni Freedoff regarding his article published in the CMAJ about Health Canada’s intention to allow fortifcation of food products without any evidence that it will benefit public health. Instead, Dr. Freedhoff states that the beneficiaries are the food corporations.
Read more about this on his blog.
Since our last interview with Dr. Ben Goldacre in March of this year, he has written many a tale about the ongoing misrepresentations of science through agencies that wish to sell you a product or provide information through media sources.
Given that many applications of common alternative medical treatments are harmless in nature, there are times when the modes of thinking and claims made by the purveyors of these “health products” cause misery and death.
Such is the case of vitamin-pill entrepreneur Matthias Rath who sued Dr. Goldacre, and the Guardian, for libel. Rath lost his case after a long and expensive court battle but the harm that befell the people of South Africa when his products were touted as a treatment for AIDS and supported by the South African Government was severe.
Dr. Goldacre now has published the chapter of his book Bad Science entitled The Doctor will Sue You Now now that he has won the court case. It is a sad illustration and a very serious story about the dangers of pseudoscience.
As Dr. Goldacre states,
Matthias Rath takes us rudely outside the contained, almost academic distance of this book. For the most part we’ve been interested in the intellectual and cultural consequences of bad science, the made-up facts in national newspapers, dubious academic practices in universities, some foolish pill-peddling, and so on. But what happens if we take these sleights of hand, these pill-marketing techniques, and transplant them out of our decadent Western context into a situation where things really matter?
- Dr. Ben Goldacre, physician, award-winning writer, and broadcaster, who has written the weekly Bad Science column in the Guardian since 2003 and is author of the book of the same name.
Madely Health Headlines Commentary for November 18, 2009
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Watchful waiting for prostate cancer is safe
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Information abounds about H1N1 flu prevention, infection control and best hygiene practices. Is this message resonating with groups that, according to public health officials and major health organizations like the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Health Protection Agency of Canada, are most at risk of harm should they become infected with H1N1? [...]
We have discussed on past editions of Sunday House Call how we tend to think of heart attacks and stroke when considering the effects of cardiovascular disease. What should be included as well is peripheral arterial disease or PAD; a serious condition that causes significant morbidity and poor quality of life. Edmonton researchers at the [...]
It seems as a society we are sleepwalking towards a myriad of preventable diseases. I say this because after reading another of Dr. Richard Béliveau’s masterful books on how our lifestyle, eating habits, and food choices are intricately linked with our physical, emotional and spiritual health, the evidence is compelling. In his new book, Eating [...]
Madely Health Headlines Commentary for November 2, 2009
Why the H1N1 vaccine program is focusing on high-risk groups first Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadI am reminded of a scene from the science fiction movie Logan’s Run where a plastic surgeon uses a laser to cut the skin, makes the cosmetic change, and then seals the wound with a laser leaving no scar. Although this seemed an impossible feat of technology at the time, real science has edged closer [...]
When we last spoke to Nadeem Esmail in October 2007 regarding a report on efforts to reduce hospital wait times in Canada, the results were less than stellar.: wait times remained a major problem and barrier for prompt care. The Fraser Institute’s annual report on hospital wait times, the 19th edition of Waiting Your Turn: [...]
Afternoon Edition – H1N1 Special
Rob Snow and Dr Barry Dworkin host a four hour special on H1N1 answering your questions about the virus and the vaccine to protect against it.
References:
Public Health Agency of Canada – National Advisory Committee On Immunization: Influenza Vaccine
Thimerosal in Vaccines
Thimerosal and Vaccine Safety
Squalene information from FDA site
Information on opposing voices and the methodology employed
An Epidemic of fear
The Cochrane Influenza Resources
Cochrane review of vaccines and autism claim
As the focus of attention turns to the H1N1 outbreak that is now occurring across the country, the public faces an array of information sources that will influence their opinion about vaccination. There have been many claims and critiques about the H1N1 vaccine and it has become a springboard to envelop other vaccines and vaccination [...]
With the H1N1 flu season upon us, the need to provide credible evidenced-based information to the public is an essential in order to answer questions and concerns. Dr. Isra Levy, the City of Ottawa’s Chief Medical Offer of Health and Dr. Nadine Sicard, Associate Medical Offer of Health and member of the National Advisory Committee [...]
There are many branches of stroke research from prevention, emergency treatment, to rehabilitation technologies and therapies. When a person suffers a stroke, it is a race to try to minimize the death of brain cells that follow the initial damage and oxygen deprivation.
The Ontario Government’s electronic medical record fiasco spent a billion dollars with little to show for it. At McMaster University, physicians and programmers have developed a comprehensive, secure, web-based and open source electronic health records system that is ready to be rolled out across Canada. There are several major differences in the way the system [...]
Original broadcast date: October 11, 2009 Although there is a belief that an elective or non-emergency induction of labour will lead to increased rates of cesarean sections, research conducted at the University of California, San Francisco and the Stanford University School of Medicine in affiliation with the Stanford-UCSF Evidence-Based Practice Center, has found the opposite [...]
Original broadcast date: October 4, 2009 As I have stated quite emphatically on recent editions of Sunday House Call, we consume too much salt and most of it is derived from food manufacturers and restaurants. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in Canada with three out of four people having a lifetime [...]
Original broadcast date: October 4, 2009 An excellent illustration of how medical science and science in general continuously questions and evaluates accepted practices and ideas, is exemplified by a study on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) recently published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The results demonstrate that people have better chances to survive when [...]
Original broadcast date: September 27, 2009 This week the Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that it has plans to create Nurse Practitioner-led clinics and to allow pharmacists to prescribe certain medications. Should pharmacists prescribe medication without a doctor’s prescription and should nurse practitioners lead Ontario’s health teams? That is a question posed by the Chair [...]
Original broadcast date: September 27, 2009 The advent of the PAP test in the 1960’s, a screening test to detect abnormal cells of the cervix that might lead to cancerous change, has had a tremendous positive impact on women’s health. There are various recommendations on when to start screening, how often to screen and what [...]
Original broadcast date: September 20, 2009 Our breadth of understanding of the reams of medical information reported in the media is dependent in part on our understanding of the history of medicine. This history includes our human response to change and our willingness to accept new ideas and engage in healthy debate when conflicts arise. [...]
Original broadcast date: September 13, 2009 A recent poll commissioned by The Arthritis Society reveals that almost two out of three Canadians struggling with arthritis believe that physical activity poses the risk of aggravating their symptoms. This percentage was considerably higher than the general population who responded at just under 1 in 2, as indicated [...]
Original broadcast date: September 13, 2009 There are instances in clinical research when the clinical outcome goals of the study are superseded by an unexpected discovery. Researchers from the University of Florida reported in the August 13, 2009 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine that the retinas of adults treated with a gene [...]
Original broadcast date: September 6, 2009 Injuries are unfortunately part of the risk of participating in sporting activities. For adults, there seems to be a specific treatment pathway for various types of injuries but for children, questions remain about its management. One such injury is an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear. A study presented at [...]
Original broadcast date: September 6, 2009 Acute brain injuries from concussive forces have the potential to cause significant long-term cognitive damage if not recognized and diagnosed early. To date, imaging technology such as CT and MRI has limitations regarding the detection of specific types of brain damage. New findings, reported by researchers at the Albert [...]
Original broadcast date: August 30, 2009 “There has to be a better way,” says orthopedic surgeon Dr Cyril Frank. What Dr. Frank refers to is the present approach used to repair damaged ligaments in joints such as the knee with methods that are still “fairly barbaric”. In that vein, the University of Calgary is expanding [...]
Original broadcast date: August 30, 2009 Major trauma from severe injuries can have a devastating impact on the lives of the individual, their friends and family. A report by released July 30, 2009 by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), reviewed the principle causes of these injuries in Ontario. Alcohol was involved in at [...]
Original broadcast date: August 9, 2009 The statistics are compelling and disturbing. An article written by Val Jones on the website Science Based Medicine notes the following: - Pfizer Global Security raids resulted in seizure of 11.1 million counterfeit tablets, capsules and vials in 42 countries in 2008. Pfizer seizure of counterfeit drugs in 2008 [...]
Original broadcast date: July 19, 2009 The understanding of a disease process or pathophysiology is crucial to the development of innovative ways to find effective therapies to treat it. On Sunday House Call we have been following various avenues in cancer research that continue to reveal insights into the protein chemistry, genetics and immune response [...]
