The New England Journal of Medicine is one of the most important
general medical journals in the world. Doctors rely on the conclusions
it publishes, and most do not have the time to look beyond abstracts to
examine methodology or question assumptions. Many of its pronouncements
are conveyed by the media to a mass audience, which is likely to take
them as authoritative. But is this trust entirely warranted?
Theodore Dalrymple, a doctor retired from practice, turned a critical
eye upon a full year of the Journal, alert to dubious premises and to
what is left unsaid. In False Positive, he demonstrates that many of
the papers it publishes reach conclusions that are not only flawed, but
obviously flawed. He exposes errors of reasoning and conspicuous
omissions apparently undetected by the editors. In some cases, there is
reason to suspect actual corruption.
When the Journal takes on social questions, its perspective is solidly
politically correct. Practically no debate on social issues appears in
the printed version, and highly debatable points of view go
unchallenged. The Journal reads as if there were only one possible
point of view, though the American medical profession (to say nothing of
the extensive foreign readership) cannot possibly be in total agreement
with the stances taken in its pages. It is thus more megaphone than
sounding board.
There is indeed much in the New England Journal of Medicine that
deserves praise and admiration. But this book should encourage the
general reader to take a constructively critical view of medical news
and to be wary of the latest medical doctrines.