The Double-Edged Sword of Testimonials
I have been home all week recovering from the ravages of influenza, so I have been watching more of my share of day-time television. Although I have noticed health advertisements in the past, I am absolutely astounding by the sheer number of them. Nearly every commercial break is filled with important breakthroughs in the management of obesity, arthritis, or erectile dysfunction. Unproven and non-scientifically-tested herbal supplements share the same stage with patented, well-studied pharmaceuticals. Operators were standing by to take my order for supplements that cured just about everything (except my flu).
In the Old West, snake oil salesmen traveled from town to town hawking their various cure-alls and concoctions. A slick charlatan would stand proudly on the stage offering miraculous cures for cancer, rheumatism, tuberculosis, lameness, or alcoholism based on recent medical discovery of an ancient Kickapoo Indian recipe. For only a dollar, your medical worries would be a thing of the past. There was absolutely no doubt that this elixir worked, because there were people in the crowd who offer testimonial proof of its effectiveness.
An elderly man on crutches hands over his dollar and quickly takes a healthy swig of this life-giving elixir. Almost immediately, something begins to happen. Minutes later, he throws away his crutches and dances down the street, not having walked a step since getting polio - a true miracle.
For those who missed the show, there were flyers and books for sale extolling the benefits of this magic potent. There were excerpts from hundreds of letters from people all over the world contesting to the power of this miracle drug. These were testimonials from real people, like you and me. These were letters from grateful people that were now completely cured.
Dr. R.V. Piece, MD, President of the World's Dispensary Medical Association and noted author of The People's Common Sense Medical Advisor became a multi-millionaire in the early 1900's on the sale and distribution of worthless patent medicines. The cornerstone of his entire marketing strategy was based on testimonials:
Guess what? Testimonials, no different than these, are still selling worthless products a hundred years later. The only difference is that the testimonials are on television, radio, and in magazines now. It is the same old stuff; only different packages.
Luther Garcia lost 27 pounds in six days eating anything he wanted (picture of Luther holding up a pair of pants he bought at Goodwill). Kristin's devastating acne cleared up after just one application. Jim's penis is so big now that he quit his job and stays home all day admiring it. Magazine ads show pictures of the actual person that was cured standing next to a distinguished man in a lab coat holding a chemistry beaker. These things must be true; otherwise, they couldn't have printed it!
I was trained in standard, allopathic, scientific, evidence-based, Western medicine. I have a very hard time with testimonials of any type. My patient wants a prescription for amoxicillin. Her aunt took two capsules yesterday and she is completely well. Another wants a vitamin B shot so she will have more energy. Yet, another stubborn and ill patient refuses antibiotics for an x-ray-proven pneumonia. He would rather increase his dose of vitamin C. Children are not getting vaccinated because their next-door neighbor's cousin's child got autism the morning after getting an immunization. A man in Upstate New York saw the image of the Virgin Mary in a piece of toast and now his cancer is gone. These are all testimonials; dangerous testimonials.
WebMD's Message Boards are "open boards" where members help members. Any member can post a comment if they have something to add. However, there is really no way for anyone to know the qualifications or agenda of the person making those personal comments. Health Experts and WebMD moderators constantly monitor the board for any potentially-dangerous advice or comments. Just because one person took mega-doses of vitamins and it seemed to cure their cold, in no way should they be standing on a WebMD platform, hawking this newly-discovered "cure" to others, even if the intention of their testimonial was good. Fortunately, this does not happen very often on WebMD. Other similar health sites are not as well-moderated.
People want to believe in miracles and they want instant, easy cures. Who doesn't? People mistrust doctors who do not explain anything, but believe the person at the health food store who takes the time to listen to them. They take medical advice from well-meaning friends instead of consulting a legitimate medical authority. People like to help other people, but sometimes their good intentions can have very undesirable outcomes.
Perhaps, not all testimonials are bad, or even wrong. However, it is my firm belief that any testimonial used to sell or promote a product is more likely to be misleading and highly-biased. Otherwise, why include a testimonial in the first place?
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: medicine, testimonials, health and wellness
In the Old West, snake oil salesmen traveled from town to town hawking their various cure-alls and concoctions. A slick charlatan would stand proudly on the stage offering miraculous cures for cancer, rheumatism, tuberculosis, lameness, or alcoholism based on recent medical discovery of an ancient Kickapoo Indian recipe. For only a dollar, your medical worries would be a thing of the past. There was absolutely no doubt that this elixir worked, because there were people in the crowd who offer testimonial proof of its effectiveness.
An elderly man on crutches hands over his dollar and quickly takes a healthy swig of this life-giving elixir. Almost immediately, something begins to happen. Minutes later, he throws away his crutches and dances down the street, not having walked a step since getting polio - a true miracle.
For those who missed the show, there were flyers and books for sale extolling the benefits of this magic potent. There were excerpts from hundreds of letters from people all over the world contesting to the power of this miracle drug. These were testimonials from real people, like you and me. These were letters from grateful people that were now completely cured.
Dr. R.V. Piece, MD, President of the World's Dispensary Medical Association and noted author of The People's Common Sense Medical Advisor became a multi-millionaire in the early 1900's on the sale and distribution of worthless patent medicines. The cornerstone of his entire marketing strategy was based on testimonials:
Gentlemen -This book (which I have in my possession) has thousands of testimonials from such grateful people as Lottie Clark, Belle Sweeney, and H.M. Holleman, Esq. Not one of them had anything bad to say about Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery, or Pink Pills for Pale People. We can laugh at these today. How naive can people be?
I was troubled with boils for over thirty years to the point where I have not been able to walk for the last four years. I bought Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Pellets and took one after each meal. The boils soon disappeared and I have had none since. My headaches are gone too.
Respectfully yours,
William Ramich
Guess what? Testimonials, no different than these, are still selling worthless products a hundred years later. The only difference is that the testimonials are on television, radio, and in magazines now. It is the same old stuff; only different packages.
Luther Garcia lost 27 pounds in six days eating anything he wanted (picture of Luther holding up a pair of pants he bought at Goodwill). Kristin's devastating acne cleared up after just one application. Jim's penis is so big now that he quit his job and stays home all day admiring it. Magazine ads show pictures of the actual person that was cured standing next to a distinguished man in a lab coat holding a chemistry beaker. These things must be true; otherwise, they couldn't have printed it!
I was trained in standard, allopathic, scientific, evidence-based, Western medicine. I have a very hard time with testimonials of any type. My patient wants a prescription for amoxicillin. Her aunt took two capsules yesterday and she is completely well. Another wants a vitamin B shot so she will have more energy. Yet, another stubborn and ill patient refuses antibiotics for an x-ray-proven pneumonia. He would rather increase his dose of vitamin C. Children are not getting vaccinated because their next-door neighbor's cousin's child got autism the morning after getting an immunization. A man in Upstate New York saw the image of the Virgin Mary in a piece of toast and now his cancer is gone. These are all testimonials; dangerous testimonials.
WebMD's Message Boards are "open boards" where members help members. Any member can post a comment if they have something to add. However, there is really no way for anyone to know the qualifications or agenda of the person making those personal comments. Health Experts and WebMD moderators constantly monitor the board for any potentially-dangerous advice or comments. Just because one person took mega-doses of vitamins and it seemed to cure their cold, in no way should they be standing on a WebMD platform, hawking this newly-discovered "cure" to others, even if the intention of their testimonial was good. Fortunately, this does not happen very often on WebMD. Other similar health sites are not as well-moderated.
People want to believe in miracles and they want instant, easy cures. Who doesn't? People mistrust doctors who do not explain anything, but believe the person at the health food store who takes the time to listen to them. They take medical advice from well-meaning friends instead of consulting a legitimate medical authority. People like to help other people, but sometimes their good intentions can have very undesirable outcomes.
Perhaps, not all testimonials are bad, or even wrong. However, it is my firm belief that any testimonial used to sell or promote a product is more likely to be misleading and highly-biased. Otherwise, why include a testimonial in the first place?
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: medicine, testimonials, health and wellness
1 Comments:
This is so true! As I laid in bed a couple weeks ago with a 103 fever that's all i saw on the television was ads for some type of medication. Of course nothing was there for me except the tylenol ads to reduce a fever. I had to wait it out and to this day I am still coughing like crazy, but as my doctor says, "It's nothing to worry about!"
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