Two studies by CHP/PCOR fellow Randall S. Stafford, published in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association and widely publicized in the news media, reveal that physicians measurably reduced their prescribing of two common drug regimens (estrogen/progestin hormone replacement therapy and the alpha blocker doxazosin) in response to research that revealed significant risks of the drugs. But the JAMA studies -- which found a much sharper drop in prescriptions for hormone replacement therapy than for doxazosin -- suggest that physicians respond most readily to new clinical evidence when the information is widely promoted in the media and spurs discussion among the general public.

The study findings were covered by several news outlets across the country, including USA Today, Newsday, the San Jose Mercury News, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Associated Press, Reuters, Bloomberg News, WebMD and CNN. TV news segments covering the research findings aired on TV stations in more than 30 major U.S. markets.