iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Cannot overstate the importance of this idea: Patients need appropriately selected comparisons in order to understand the meaning of their health data. Great work @ellenpeters.bsky.social !

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Almost a decade ago, I wrote a piece for TheConversation.com on the (manageable) risks of raw cookie dough (theconversation.com/why-public-h...). It went viral and has something like 400k views. But, the world of dough has changed, so it seemed like a good time for a revision. Enjoy!

sph.umich.edu

Public health professor Brian Zikmund-Fisher breaks down the risks from raw eggs and flour in homemade dough—and explains why store-bought "ready to eat" options are now his go-to for satisfying cravi...

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Put simply, no. But anyone can improve their communications by being very intentional. What do you want the person to think, feel, or do immediately upon receipt of the number? Let that guide the selection of format.

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Depends on a) what kind of number / what kind of visual and b) what you mean by "better". As I and my co-authors discuss here (doi.org/10.1093/jami...), there are at least 12-14 different outcomes of number communication, and no format is best at all of them.

doi.org

Do you want to promote recall, perceptions, or behavior? The best data visualization depends on the communication goal

Abstract. Data visualizations can be effective and inclusive means for helping people understand health-related data. Yet numerous high-quality studies com

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

Very proud of authoring this JAMA piece summarizing the most evidence based recommendations we have about communicating probabilities and test results to patients. Now to hope that people believe that using these best practices matters!

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

Thanks, @mcpoliti.bsky.social! We hope that people can accept the challenging idea that there is no "best" way to communicate risk because EVERY approach improves some outcomes but diminishes others. We have to make a new choice each time we communicate, and we must know our goals to do so.

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

The Making Numbers Meaningful Systematic Review papers are now available! Review of 316 papers on communicating health-related probabilities to the public. 1,119 findings. Methods / scoping paper, 6 evidence summary papers, 5 editorials. All open access. journals.sagepub.com/topic/collec...

Special Collection: "The Making Numbers Meaningful Systematic Review" - MDM Policy & Practice

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Reposted by Brian Zikmund-Fisher

Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM) @smdm.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

🎉 Meet the Member: Brian! 🎉 🧠 Area of Expertise: Risk Communication & Shared Decision-Making 🎭 Fun Fact: Uses improv theater games to enhance teaching, research presentations, and communication skills! Brian has been an SMDM member since 2000 and deeply values its mentoring culture. 💙

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Great to see my friend and colleague @ldscherer.bsky.social and Kirsten McCaffery from @sydneyhealthlitlab.bsky.social in today's New York Times talking about how calling something "cancer" may not be helpful for decision making about DCIS! Tagging @smdm.bsky.social for amplification.

nytimes.com

When ‘Cancer’ Gets in the Way of Treatment

Some oncologists suggest that, for certain early cancers not at risk of spreading, the term “cancer” should be avoided.

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Great discussion by my colleague @kaytesb.bsky.social on what actually happens to direct-to-consumer genetic testing data.

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

I'm pleased to announce that the supplements are now fixed and available for download at JAMA!

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

Unfortunately, JAMA messed up the publication of the supplements. They're fixing it now, should be available online fairly soon. In the meantime, while we can't post them, we can send them directly to anyone who reaches out directly to Dr. Lapedis or me.

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

Thanks for the callout, @iwashyna.bsky.social! I hope this convinces people that it's simply unethical not to provide a patient-friendly, plain language summary like our PCPR format, given that patients have direct access to these reports in their records.

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Brian Zikmund-Fisher @bzikmund.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

I've published literally hundreds of studies, but this one will always be special. I'm so proud to have helped Dr. Cathryn Lapedis show so convincingly how BAD current prostate biopsy pathology reports are compared to a simple patient-centered design. PLUS: my first JAMA article ever!

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