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Leff & Finucane describe Gizmo idolatry as the implicit belief in the superiority of an unproven technological medical solution over one that is less technological.
pearl- Bruce Leff and Thomas E Finucane.
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA. bleff@jhmi.edu
- JAMA. 2008 Apr 16; 299 (15): 1830-2.
no abstract available
Notes
Also relevant to read is Duggan's 2019 CJA editorial: The MacGyver bias and attraction of homemade devices in healthcare
Daniel Jolley
Human Love of Bells and Whistles
"Increasing the technological complexity of treatment appears to increase the significance of an illness and the appeal of an intervention. Furthermore, if hospitalization is required, additional distinction may be conferred. For instance, good evidence demonstrates that oral rehydration during acute diarrheal illness is at least as good as intravenous therapy. For most patients, metered-dose inhalers are as effective as nebulized bronchodilators, but inhalers are generally regarded as lesser treatments. The gadgetry of gizmos somehow provides cachet, and electrified intravenous pumps and nebulizer machines seem more substantive."
– Leff & Finucane, 2008