Dead Wrong

Save lives and improve public health by countering misinformation

In Dead Wrong: Diagnosing and Treating Healthcare’s Misinformation Illness, a team of health misinformation experts delivers a first-hand account of the dangers posed by false narratives and snake oil in the face of deadly healthcare crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic. In the book, you’ll explore the challenges facing those who fight to restore truth to a place of primacy in the United States healthcare system, the strategies they use, and the lessons you can draw from their real-world stories.

In this revised edition you’ll learn:

• How misinformation threatens organizational revenues, reputation, and patient health
• How to leverage existing systems to combat misinformation while meeting quality measures and boosting patient acquisition
• How to implement strategies for systemic change through new quality measures, research initiatives, and elevating healthcare professionals as authoritative voices for truth

Based on feedback from leading healthcare executives, the book provides clearer frameworks for connecting anti-misinformation efforts to revenue generation and cost savings, offering practical pathways for healthcare leaders to protect both patient welfare and organizational sustainability in an era where scientific truth and institutional trust face unprecedented challenges.

Perfect for clinicians, public health leaders, health-tech leaders, and health marketers, Dead Wrong will also earn a place in the libraries of media professionals and community leaders with an interest in keeping the American public healthy and vibrant.

Foreword by Dr. Joseph Kvedar vii

Preface ix

Chapter 1 A Fatal Misconception 1

Chapter 2 Pandemic of Lies 19

Chapter 3 Our Tainted History 35

Chapter 4 New Traumas, Old Wounds 53

Chapter 5 A Shock to the Healthcare System 69

Chapter 6 Trust and Empathy 87

Chapter 7 Reverse- Engineering Dark Magic 107

Chapter 8 Healthcare’s Human Stories 125

Chapter 9 The Pursuit of Change 143

Chapter 10 Doing No Harm 165

Chapter 11 Healthcare’s Reckoning Is Here 177

Notes 195

Acknowledgments 221

About the Authors 227

Index 229

GEETA NAYYAR, MD, MBA, is a nationally recognized healthcare technology leader who has served as chief medical officer for Salesforce and AT&T. She has been featured on CNN, CBS, and ABC.

TOM CASTLES AND JACK MURTHA are the founders of Map Change, a thought leadership agency specializing in healthcare and technology. Their work has advanced the industry’s top companies and innovators.

“It is increasingly clear that misinformation poses a threat to every pillar of society, but the stakes are especially high in medicine. With refreshing clarity, Dead Wrong spotlights the challenges of separating fact from fiction when it comes to our healthcare. Dr. Geeta Nayyar isn’t satisfied with simply defining the problem. She merges her clinical experience and boardroom expertise along with her team’s journalistic skills to offer practical solutions and chart a better path forward. Healthcare and policy leaders would be wise to take note.”
—DR. SANJAY GUPTA, Chief Medical Correspondent, CNN

“Misinformation, or downright lies, are undermining so many important conversations we need to be having in this country about how to make policy decisions that are critical to our quality of life. Nowhere is there more harmful than in healthcare where lives are quite literally at stake, particularly in our most vulnerable communities. Fight disinformation by being informed—start with this great book that gets inside how myths and lies cause harm and give us the facts we need to fight back.”
—SOLEDAD O’BRIEN, Broadcast Journalist and Founder, Soledad O’Brien Productions

“Finally, a no-nonsense wake-up call to combat the epidemic of misinformation in American healthcare. In Dead Wrong, Dr. Geeta Nayyar fearlessly tackles this pervasive problem with unapologetic fervor and characteristic grace, exposing the devastating impact of falsehoods on our well-being. This book is an urgent rallying cry for us all to take control of our health and dismantle the web of deceit that has entangled healthcare for decades. Brace yourself for a heavy dose of truth and an honest look in the mirror.”
—ANA NAVARRO, Political Commentator and Strategist