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Doctor Mike Criticizes AMA’s Communication Strategy in Fight Against Misinformation

BOSTON – Mike Varshavski,‍ a family⁤ physician⁣ and ⁤content creator who goes by Doctor Mike⁤ on YouTube, has ⁤made it his mission too combat medical misinformation. He’s attracted 14 million followers by communicating both clearly and ⁢entertainingly. He wishes leaders in⁤ medicine like the⁣ American Medical Association would⁤ do⁤ the same, he told attendees at the STAT Summit on Wednesday.

While they mean well, he said they haven’t figured out how to ‍reach a mass audience. ‍One example: In a recent video, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.⁣ sat back in his chair and claimed that doctors are profiting from⁢ keeping Americans sick. “And the AMA – which is the group that supposedly stands up for the physicians in America – issues⁢ a strongly worded tweet that reaches 5,000⁢ people,” Varshavski said. “Or⁤ they get the president of the AMA to sit⁣ in front of⁣ a webcam with terrible audio, the screen reflecting in the glasses with no lighting, to also make a response video reading a script from a screen.”

earlier in the day, former high-ranking Centers for Disease Control and Prevention⁤ official⁢ Dan Jernigan, who resigned in August, also emphasized that professional medical organizations need to do more to counter unreliable statements from administration officials.