Merck Manuals Medical Myths Podcast Set the Record Straight on Common Medical Misconceptions

“Medical Knowledge is Power, Pass it On.” That’s the motto the Merck Manuals adopted when we pledged to make the best current medical information accessible to three billion professionals and patients around the world by 2020.

Upholding that pledge means continually evolving the content we deliver and the ways we deliver it. One of the fastest growing formats for sharing information in the medical field and beyond is the podcast. The number of podcast listeners has more than doubled in the past decade, according to Pew research. Today, with more than half the population listening to podcasts, is the perfect time for the Merck Manuals to harness this medium to reach current and new audiences.

That’s why we’re launching our new “Merck Manuals Medical Myths” podcast series. In each episode, I sit down for a conversation with a nationally recognized doctor who is also an author of a Merck Manual chapter in their specialty. These doctors literally wrote the book on the topics we’re discussing. This approach allows us to engage with our authors in a fun, conversation-driven format ideal for connecting listeners directly to doctors and their insights.

We’re harnessing the rapidly growing podcast format to accomplish the same goal behind all of our Merck Manuals content and resources – offering the “best first place to go” to find trusted, reliable medical information at no cost in a language and tone that matches the needs of our audience.

Medical Myths: Busted

In an era when you can Google any medical condition and find lots of unreliable and inaccurate information, the Merck Manuals Medical Myths podcast tackles subjects most in need of setting the record straight. Our guest physicians share stories and talk through popular medical misconceptions to help patients and parents make more informed medical decisions. Our first season of Merck Manuals Medical Myths podcasts will include episodes on the following topics:

1. Myths About Bites and Stings, featuring Gerald O’Malley, DO, Sidney Kimmel School of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital
2. Debunking Pregnancy Myths, featuring Lara Friel, MD, PhD, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth and UT Physicians in Houston
3. Diet Myths and The Real Truth, featuring Adrienne Youdim, MD, FACP, Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Cedars Sinai Medical Center
4. Dispelling Common Aging Myths, featuring Michael R. Wasserman, MD, CMD, Geriatrician and Board Member of the Foundation for Health in Aging
5. Hearing Loss Myths, featuring Lawrence R. Lustig, MD, Columbia University Medical Center and New York Presbyterian Hospital
6. Travel Health Myths, featuring Christopher Sanford, MD, Associate Professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and Global Health at the University of Washington