Give to PMCRI

Donate to improve medical communication

How medical information is communicated has a profound impact on public health. Historically, the public believed in the importance of scientific research and patients trusted their physicians as their primary source of medical information. Changes in how scientific research is communicated, the role of media in medical communication, and new roles of the internet and social media as sources of medical information have transformed the way that physicians and the public obtain medical information. Each of these changes has the potential to lead to a better informed, more health-literate public. They also have the potential for dangerous consequences, as has clearly been illustrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, strategies to deliver information in an effective, trustworthy way are particularly needed for vulnerable populations.

Surprisingly little research has been performed to understand the flow of medical communication and how medical misinformation propagates. Furthermore, no randomized interventions have been performed to attempt to alter medical information flow and stop medical misinformation.

The Penn Medical Communication Research Institute is a cross-cutting institute whose mission is to perform research to track the spread of medical information, understand its context, and perform trials to improve health literacy and trust in evidence-based medical information.

If you're interested in making a donation to the institute, please email Michael Krystopolski.