Navigating the Hype

In this episode, pediatric otolaryngologist and author Dr. Nina Shapiro joins Dr. Gopi Shah and Dr. Ashley Agan to discuss writing for non-medical audiences, addressing health misinformation, and overcoming our own physician biases.

Dr. Shapiro discusses her journey towards authorship. As her children entered school, she had begun communicating information about common ENT issues to other parents. This passion evolved into writing op-eds, blog articles, and eventually, books. Her audiences are both medical and non-medical, and she discusses the differences in writing for each type.

We talk about concepts from her newest book, “Hype,” which aims to address popular health concerns, de-bunk media myths, and encourage readers to be intelligent consumers of health information and products. We dive into “The Curse of the Original Belief,” the idea that we are biased towards seeking out new information that confirms what we already believe.

Dr. Shapiro offers guidance for physicians when they converse with patients who have been misinformed by Internet sources. Her overall strategy is to listen to patients’ fears, be patient, and follow up with them. Finally, she encourages all practitioners to keep an open mind and stay flexible, as new research can change long-standing beliefs and recommendations.