Is the NHS in danger of making misinformation worse?

Is the NHS in danger of making misinformation worse?

Author: The BMJ March 13, 2026 Duration: 48:17
The lure of health influencers and AI chat bots is strong. More and more people are placing trust in them to answer their health problems, misplaced trust - as we know these AIs can misinform. At the same time, people are struggling to access the NHS, and when they do doctors have little time or the right tools to unpick complicated science, and challenge misunderstandings. So in this roundtable, we’re asking, are we in danger of the NHS making the problem of misinformation worse, and what can we do to combat that. Joining Kamran Abbasi, the BMJ’s editor in chief are: Deborah Cohen: Freelance Journalist; Senior Visiting Fellow at LSE Health Kamila Hawthorne: Chair of the National Academy for Social Prescribing Nnena Osuji: Consultant haematologist and CEO of North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust Chapters [00:00] The rise of health influencers [03:55] Patient satisfaction and the NHS [05:58] The "Infodemic" and clinical impact [11:04] Digital literacy and health inequalities [16:40] Questions from the audience   Reading list: Cohen D. Bad Influence: How the Internet Hijacked Our Health. Oneworld Publications; 2026. Satisfaction with NHS hits record low, but public still back founding principles - The BMJ

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Author: Language: en-gb Episodes: 100

Medicine and Science from The BMJ
Podcast Episodes
How the internet hijacked our health [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Deborah Cohen's new book "How the internet hijacked our health" explores the profound impact of the internet on our wellbeing. In this conversation with BMJ Editor, Kamran Abbasi, they discuss the ways in which online in…
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The class of GLP-1 agonist drugs including Ozempic gained a wide reputation for weight loss in 2025. However, it's well established that weight regain is a common result after people stop their doses. We report on new re…
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"Damning” and “unforgivable failures” is how some papers headlines reacted to criticism of former UK prime minister Boris Johnson in the second of 10 reports from the UK Covid Inquiry. Under pressure, in 2001 Boris Johns…
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Duration: 44:12
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