Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD
@kmpanthagani.bsky.social
Creator of youcanknowthings.com | Emergency Medicine resident | R dataviz nerd | SciComm writer | posts my own views and not medical advice | #MedSky
As much as we'd like a simple yes vs. no — or zero vs. one, there are too many uncertainties in life — including the sciences. So for this situation, it's best to minimize risk. Dr. @kmpanthagani.bsky.social is bringing the useful information.
Why there's so much conflicting advice on the cyclospora outbreak
An explosion of diarrhea and conflicting information
youcanknowthings.substack.com
How do you write about science in a way that makes people actually want to read it? This episode of The Communication Lab tackles how to create engaging content and how habits learned from academia can backfire when it comes to communicating online... www.youcanknowthings.com/how-to-creat...
How to create science content people actually like
Welcome to Episode 2 of The Communication Lab — where I’m going to teach you my tips and tricks for science and health communication on social media (if you’re new to this series, start here). This w...
youcanknowthings.com
Sad events here at #ADA26 - ADA has chosen the side of this administration - pretending it's unsafe to an invited federal speaker to hand out an editorial - over supporting its own leadership who've dedicated countless volunteer hours to the org's right to protest. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/05/w...
Police Remove Diabetes Experts From Conference for Distributing Critique of Trump Administration
nytimes.com
I’m so excited to finally be able to share a project I’ve been working on for months: Introducing The Communication Lab, my first training course teaching how to do science communication on social media! Oh, and one more thing… open.substack.com/pub/youcankn...
Introducing The Communication Lab, and one more thing...
A few very exciting announcements
open.substack.com
As Dr @kmpanthagani.bsky.social points out, the AI did not obtain the history. It used the history obtained by the ER doc. And getting that history is the *highest*-level cognitive task ER doctors perform. youcanknowthings.substack.com/p/did-ai-rea...
Did AI really beat ER doctors at ER triage?
Nope. A look at an interesting AI study that is generating overhyped headlines.
youcanknowthings.substack.com
Did AI really beat ER doctors at ER triage? Nope. But with the headlines circulating this week around a new Science paper, you wouldn’t be blamed for walking away with that conclusion. Here’s what actually happened and why the headlines are wrong: www.youcanknowthings.com/did-ai-reall...
Did AI really beat ER doctors at ER triage?
Nope. A look at an interesting AI study that has led to some very overhyped headlines. Yesterday a new study was published in Science comparing the diagnostic capacity of several AI tools to physicia...
youcanknowthings.com
Worried about doing bystander CPR? "You can’t get more injured than dead - which is what a cardiac arrest is. Broken ribs are common in CPR (for both male & female patients), but people can heal from those." ~ Dr. @kmpanthagani.bsky.social yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/if-your-he...
If Your Heart Stopped Right Now, Would a Stranger Save You? It Depends on Your Sex.
Why women are less likely to receive CPR—and less likely to survive
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com
Did you know women are less likely to receive CPR than men? Shout to the Pitt for showing the reality of how women can receive substandard care because of… their chest.
The public health roundup just dropped! To help you sort through the chaotic news, each week I highlight my top 5 public health stories that are worth your time. Stories come from all over: mainstream news, research, social media, and independent journalists. Check it out 👇🏽👇🏽 shorturl.at/lqLCP
This week's public health roundup (March 27 edition)
My top 5 public health stories of the week
shorturl.at
Highly recommend you read the judge’s comments from the RFK Jr. vaccine lawsuit, which are a breath of fresh air after a year of chaos. If you don’t have time read the whole thing, here are a few of my favorite sections: www.youcanknowthings.com/read-the-jud...
Read the judge's comments from the RFK Jr. vaccine lawsuit
By now you have likely heard the news: a U.S. District Court Judge has blocked many of RFK Jr.’s vaccine policy changes from the last year. Yesterday, the court issued a preliminary injunction, meani...
youcanknowthings.com
When it comes to vaccines, the words "safe", "immunity" and "prevent" have caused incredible confusion and sparked endless debates. @kmpanthagani.bsky.social 's recent article does a great job explaining how misunderstandings arise. Recommended! www.youcanknowthings.com/when-work-do...
When “work” doesn’t work
I recently gave a talk on vaccine communication, and the most common feedback I got was appreciation for the section on words that confuse people. I’ve written before how a lot of “misinformation” ca...
youcanknowthings.com
Faith, Facts, and Trust By @kmpanthagani.bsky.social Narrated by @charityorrison.com tumbleweird.org/faith-facts-and-trust/ #ScienceAndFaith #bridgebuilders #PublicHealth #trustinscience #FaithCommunity #sciencecommunication #evidencecollective #dialogue #STEM #UnityInDiversity
Faith, Facts, and Trust
“The alleged ‘faith-science’ gap has damaged trust in both.”
tumbleweird.org
A really good read on logical fallacies used to spread misinformation. It is so easy to fall for these. I’m looking at you, RFK Jr. @yourlocalepidemiologist.skystack.xyz @kmpanthagani.bsky.social 🧪 yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/5-logical-...
5 Logical fallacies in the era of RFK Jr.
Common rhetorical tricks that are trending right now
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com
RFK uses many of the same rhetorical tricks over and over again. It’s tempting to play whack-a-mole with every rumor, but research shows a better (and less exhausting) method: “prebunking” — or teaching people to recognize the patterns used to sell falsehoods. Today's post does just that 👇🏽
AN ANNOUNCEMENT: I’ve officially launched a new newsletter! I’ve learned that if I have the same idea over and over again I should probably just do it, and this newsletter is that idea. The news is INSANE right now, and it’s so hard to keep up with everything. substack.com/home/post/p-...
Welcome to The Public Health Roundup
My top 5 public health articles of the week
substack.com
Shared decision-making, informed consent, and the rhetoric of false empowerment: How HHS misrepresents SCDM, which is used by doctors in a very specific way - it does not mean "let's talk". open.substack.com/pub/yourloca... via @kmpanthagani.bsky.social
Shared decision-making, informed consent, and the rhetoric of false empowerment
What these medical terms mean and how they’re fueling confusion about vaccines
open.substack.com
1/ Recently, RFK Jr. made sweeping changes to childhood vaccine guidance using terms like “shared clinical decision-making” and “informed consent.” At first glance, they sound empowering—but the reality is more complicated. YLE contributor @kmpanthagani.bsky.social is breaking it down for us🧵
Autonomy in vaccine decision-making is supported, not undermined, by expert recommendations and guidance. Thanks for emphasizing this, @kmpanthagani.bsky.social
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦@helenbranswell.bsky.social · 6mo agoWondering why there's such a fuss about pushing some #vaccine recommendations to "shared clinical decision making"? The term is being conflated with "informed consent," suggesting it's about empowering parents. This isn't that; good take here. yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/shared-dec...
What does “shared decision-making” actually mean when it comes to vaccines? To the average person, this sounds like it describes physicians and parents collaboratively making decisions. But in medicine, it has come to mean something far more specific…
Now would be a great time for academia to start valuing SciComm in service, tenure & promotion. The status quo of publishing in pay-walled journals for narrow audiences in the dozens & handwaving about 'broader impacts' is a threat to your funding, a broader understanding of science & public health.
How do I find accurate health information online? open.substack.com/pub/youcankn... via @kmpanthagani.bsky.social
How do I find accurate health information online?
Some tools to guide you through the noise
open.substack.com
Five years of COVID vaccines: how a breakthrough created a public-heath crisis @nature.com @miryamnaddaf.bsky.social Physician and science communicator @kmpanthagani.bsky.social talks about why public trust in vaccines has fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Today is the 5th anniversary of the first COVID vaccine. To mark the occasion, I chatted with @nature.com about trust in vaccines, what’s changed in the last 5 years, and where we need to go from here. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Five years of COVID vaccines: how a breakthrough created a public-heath crisis
Physician and science communicator Kristen Panthagani talks about why public trust in vaccines has fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic.
nature.com
Science can never “disprove everything,” because you can create an infinite list of possible questions. To show what an unreasonable standard this is, let’s dig into the question that everybody’s been ignoring and hasn’t been studied adequately — DO DOGS CAUSE AUTISM???
Kristen Panthagani, MD, PhD@kmpanthagani.bsky.social · 9mo agoDo dogs cause autism? The anatomy of a scientific rumor that is designed to never die 👇🏽👇🏽 www.youcanknowthings.com/do-dogs-caus...
Do dogs cause autism? The anatomy of a scientific rumor that is designed to never die 👇🏽👇🏽 www.youcanknowthings.com/do-dogs-caus...
Do dogs cause autism?
On Wednesday RFK Jr.’s CDC updated their website to claim that “vaccines do not cause autism” is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not definitively ruled out the possibility. On the su...
youcanknowthings.com
@dennisrenmd.bsky.social Excellent SGEM Xtra on science communication with @kmpanthagani.bsky.social I really enjoyed the last 7min that touched on the use of the term “anti-vax”. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/t... @casinoshiftmd.bsky.social @kaymd.bsky.social
SGEM Xtra: Talkin’ Bout a Revolution…Training Health Communicators
Podcast Episode · The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine · 2025-11-08 · 32m
podcasts.apple.com
On the latest #SGEMPeds Xtra, we chat with Dr. @kmpanthagani.bsky.social about how health communication strategies and approaches must evolve in today's world. @yalesph.bsky.social @kkjetelina.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social @thesgem.bsky.social @yalesph.bsky.social #FOAMed #SciComm #MedSky
SGEM Xtra: Talkin’ Bout a Revolution…Training Health Communicators - The Skeptics Guide to Emergency Medicine
Date: October 17, 2025 Guest Skeptic: Dr. Kristen Panthagani is an emergency medicine resident and Yale Emergency Scholar at Yale New Haven Hospital. She’s a physician-scientist, having completed her ...
thesgem.com
Coming up this week is an #SGEMPeds Xtra. Dr. @kmpanthagani.bsky.social joins us to talk about the evolution of health communication! #FOAMed #SciComm #MedSky @nejm.org @yalesph.bsky.social @kkjetelina.bsky.social @meganranney.bsky.social @thesgem.bsky.social
Training Health Communicators - The Need for a New Approach - PubMed
Training Health Communicators - The Need for a New Approach
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