Val Jones, MD
Fellow
Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina, USA
Valerie A. Jones, MD, is the founding author and CEO of Better Health, a medical blogger network and education company. Her previous blog, “Dr. Val and the Voice of Reason” (on Revolution Health, where she was the Senior Medical Director) won The Best New Medical Blog award in 2007. The Better Health blog was a finalist in the health policy and ethics category for 2008.
Dr Jones has been quoted by various major media outlets, including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. She has been a guest on over 20 different radio shows, and has been featured on CBS and ABC News. She has volunteered as a rehabilitation medicine physician at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and is currently consulting on several telemedicine initiatives.
Dr Jones is a graduate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. She conducted research at the Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research Group, Columbia University's Department of Plastic Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Saint Vincent’s Hospital in New York City for their Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She won first place in the Peter Cyrus Rizzo III research competition in 2007. She also creates medical cartoons and limericks.
Selected Blogs:
- “New AMA report: almost 90% of U.S. physicians are victims of meritless lawsuits,” Better Health, 2010 Aug 3.
- “Mainstream media’s sub-par health coverage, part 2,” Science Based Medicine, 2010 Mar 18.
- “Why you can’t depend on the press for science reporting,” Science Based Medicine, 2010 Feb 25.
- “Energy healing In Maryland,” Science Based Medicine, 2010 Feb 4.
- “Don’t believe the hype: cholinesterase inhibitors as a treatment for dementia,” Science Based Medicine, 2010 Jan 21.
- “2009’s top 5 threats to science in medicine,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Dec 24.
- “The mammogram post-mortem,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Dec 10.
- “Talking science with patient advocates,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Nov 12.
- “When loud wins: will your tax dollars pay for prayer?” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Nov 3.
- “Mainstreaming science-based medicine: a novel approach,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Oct 29.
- “A case study in aggressive quackery marketing,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Oct 22.
- “David & Goliath: a dramatic role reversal spurred on by the media,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Oct 8.
- “Primary care is being crushed by a paper weight,” Better Health, 2009 Sep 29.
- “Platelet-rich plasma,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Sep 17.
- “Science-Based Medicine 101: reproducibility,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Aug 20.
- “Science-Based Medicine 101: plausibility,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Aug 13.
- “Science-Based Medicine 101: how to establish a source’s credibility,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Aug 6.
- “Why false positive results are so common in medicine,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Jul 23.
- “NIH awards $30 million research dollars to convicted felons: Cliff’s Notes version,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Jul 9.
- “Could Francis Collins’ faith create conflicts for his potential directorship of NIH?” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Jul 2.
- “Barriers to adoption of science-based medicine,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Jun 18.
- “Counterfeit drugs: a growing global health crisis,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Jun 11.
- “Will the real, silent majority please stand up – to Oprah and Jenny McCarthy?” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Jun 4.
- “Hostility towards scientists and Jenny McCarthy’s latest video,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 May 21.
- “Risks associated with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM): a brief overview,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 May 7.
- “Toxin obsession: celebrities & shampoo,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Apr 30.
- “Double-talk and paternalism,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Apr 23.
- “Book review: Triumph of The Heart, The Story of Statins,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Apr 2.
- “When should we call a quack a quack?” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Mar 26.
- “Placebo therapies: are they ethical?” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Mar 18.
- “Evidence-based legislation? lessons from abroad,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Mar 12.
- “Wyeth vs. Levine: Joe Six Pack trumps the FDA,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Mar 5.
- “Why non-scientists should not direct scientific efforts: Senator Harkin’s misguided beliefs exposed,” Better Health, 2009 Mar 2.
- “How to Get physicians to use the same science-based playbook,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Feb 26.
- “Comparative clinical effectiveness research: good news in shades of gray,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Feb 19.
- “Where does Sanjay Gupta register on the quackometer?” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Feb 5.
- “The many faces of snake oil,” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Jan
- “How is alternative medicine like earmark spending?” Science Based Medicine, 2009 Jan 15.
- “Sanjay Gupta as Surgeon General? Not so fast,” The Health Care Blog, 2009 Jan 8.
- “Farewell to The Medscape Journal: profits, losses and a canary in a coal mine,” Science Based Medicine, 2008 Dec 18.
- “Open-access peer review: increasing the noise-to-signal ratio,” Science Based Medicine, 2008 Dec 4.
- “Fecal transplants: getting to the bottom of the matter,” Science Based Medicine, 2008 Nov 27.
- “Consumer-generated clinical trials? Research minus science = gossip,” The Health Care Blog, 2008 Nov 21.
- “Canadian justice: breast-fondling chiropractor faces ‘interpersonal skills training,’” Science Based Medicine, 2008 Nov 20.
- “Bad science: four things I learned from Dr. Ben Goldacre,” Science Based Medicine, 2008 Nov 13.
- “Wyeth vs. Levine: should drug label standards be determined by juries?” Science Based Medicine, 2008 Nov 6.
- “Knowledge versus expertise: the view from Consumer Land,” Science Based Medicine, 2008 Oct 30.
- “When further research is NOT warranted: the ‘wisdom of crowds’ fallacy,” Science Based Medicine, 2008 Oct 23.
- “Disintegrating integrative medicine: lessons from baking,” Science Based Medicine, 2008 Oct 16.
- “How not to revolutionize healthcare,” KevinMD.com, 2008 Oct 12.
Selected Presentation:
In the News:
- “Better Health at HIMSS,” Nurse Ratched’s Place, 2010 Feb 18.
- “An interview with Dr. Val Jones of Better Health,” Beyond Blue, 2009 Feb 27.
- “Paging Dr. Blog: online discourse raises questions,” by Kim Painter, USA Today, 2007 May 14.
Online Videos:
- “Drug & Food Safety In The Age Of Social Media and Transparency”
- “Please Don't Rush Healthcare Reform”
- “The ePatient revolution”
- “Thought for Food, Part 2: A Great Weight-Loss Supplement?” Medscape, 2005 Nov 14.
The Online Val Jones:
