The problems with anecdotes. How someone else's story can lead you astray.

Have you ever read the reviews of a restaurant that you love and thought “well that person is probably mean, that’s why they rated it a one-star”.    Or have you ever sat in a cold doctor’s office and thought “This person has terrible bedside manner, they can’t be right about what medication I should take”.    Health anecdotes are stories that have a villain, a hero and a battle! Should we use them to make decisions? Today’s podcast is all about this. If you’ve ever listened to a colleague, a friend or a family member share their experience and thought “I wonder if I should do that?.....” This episode is for you.    It’s common in the new year for us to be bombarded with new solutions to make ourselves better, more productive and healthier. I want you to be able to listen to stories with an ‘edge’ of critical thinking, to help you decide for yourself if a story is actually helping you, or if you’re too different from the person telling the story to get the same results.    Stories and experience have a place in medicine, but it also requires both doctors and patients to try and break down their beliefs and current ideas over and over again to be helpful.    If you’re looking for new information about Women’s Health, you still have time to grab a ticket to our Women’s Health Summit at Clarity Health this January. You can grab your virtual ticket here.