The author writes of online prescribing platforms selling “everything from erectile dysfunction treatments to drugs for performance anxiety.” Not much of a range, is it?
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Here is a cartoon in a British newspaper on the subject of healthcare (slide 2/50 in the slideshow). His hair is very clever.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-independent-daily-cartoon-a8575981.html
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This is an interesting article with lots of links that are new to me. Something that isn’t explored is what I have been hearing lately about google— having gotten involved in healthcare, it is now censoring through some type of new algorithm holistic medical websites, such as greenmedinfo, and Mercola. This is not something I know much about, but it seems troubling. Whether or not you agree with holistic medicine, it seems a conflict of interest for google to bury the information especially if it is in the healthcare business. I can think of two other sites offhand that have also complained of this. I personally have health issues that I am trying to control without medication. I don’t think it is fair for google to try to hide this info for its own profit or because it is “unproven”. Regarding the unproven part, please see past New York Times articles about ghost written articles in medical journals or huge, undeclared payoffs to doctors and hospital bigwigs. Much of conventional medicine is not as proven as we would like to think. Please explore this censorship issue in a future article.
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Transcribing services appear to be common among reporters. How does using a third-party service ensure anonymity for sources? It sounds like a privacy concern for investigative pieces.
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@Chance Feick
What an interesting question, one I had never thought of.
The process of obtaining remote transcription I imagine would work like this:
You send your audio file to the transcription service. The service now has a stored copy of both voices, the reporter's and that of the anonymous source, making both identifiable.
During the conversation, no doubt the reporter might -- even casually -- use the first name of the anonymous source or perhaps say, "Dr. _____," or use another honorific that identifies the source. This "data" is in the stored audio file.
Is the remote data at the transcription service immune from subpoena? Are the files submitted to the service for transcription deleted?
It would be interesting to learn from the NY Times how such data is protected under the Constitutional and statutory rules governing press freedom and the protection of reporters' rights and those of the anonymous source.
I think there's potential here for a fascinating article about journalism in the technological age.
Thanks for bringing this up!
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Fabulous collection of links! Thank you very much.
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Lots of interesting tips and resources. Thanks
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