Editing Bandwagon effect (section)

=== In medicine ===
Decisions made by medical professionals can also be influenced by the bandwagon effect. Particularly, the widespread use and support of now-disproven medical procedures throughout history can be attributed to their popularity at the time. Layton F. Rikkers (2002), [[professor emeritus]] of surgery at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]],<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1016/s1091-255x(02)00054-9|title = The Bandwagon Effect|year = 2002|last1 = Rikkers|first1 = L.|journal = Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery|volume = 6|issue = 6|pages = 787–794|pmid = 12504215|s2cid = 24723738}}</ref> calls these prevailing practices '''medical bandwagons''', which he defines as "the overwhelming acceptance of unproved but popular [medical] ideas."<ref name=":5" />

Medical bandwagons have led to inappropriate therapies for numerous patients, and have impeded the development of more appropriate treatment.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paumgartten|first=Francisco José Roma|title=Phosphoethanolamine: anticancer pill bandwagon effect|journal=Cadernos de Saúde Pública|year=2016|language=en|volume=32|issue=10|pages=e00135316|doi=10.1590/0102-311X00135316|pmid=27783758|issn=0102-311X|doi-access=free}}</ref>

One paper from 1979 on the topic of bandwagons of medicine describes how a new medical concept or treatment can gain momentum and become mainstream, as a result of a large-scale bandwagon effect:<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1353/pbm.1979.0037|title = The Bandwagons of Medicine|year = 1979|last1 = Cohen|first1 = Lawrence|last2 = Rothschild|first2 = Henry|journal = Perspectives in Biology and Medicine|volume = 22|issue = 4|pages = 531–538|pmid = 226929| s2cid=10758319 }}</ref>

* The [[news media]] finds out about a new treatment and publicizes it, often by publishing pieces.
* Various organizations, such as government agencies, research foundations, and private companies also promote the new treatment, typically because they have some vested interest in seeing it succeed.
* The public picks up on the now-publicized treatment, and pressures medical practitioners to adopt it, especially when that treatment is perceived as being novel.
* Doctors often want to accept the new treatment, because it offers a compelling solution to a difficult issue.
* Since doctors have to consume large amounts of medical information in order to stay aware of the latest trends in their field, it is sometimes difficult for them to read new material in a sufficiently critical manner.