Big Pharma ghostwriting for doctors in some medical journals

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Not sure if this belongs here or in the Benzos in the News thread but, since the article isn't specifically about benzos thought I should post it here. Nobody will be especially shocked by this but it's disturbing just the same:

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a5OeWzHgCtFo

 

I first found out about this practice in a book I read recently, "Our Daily Meds", and was deeply saddened that doctors, people that we trust with our health and well-being, take part in such despicable behavior. All the more reason for a complete overhaul of the American health care industry.

 

Lynne

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I think this is a really BIG issue and is, indeed, realted to this forum because many here got into their problems because many physicians know only what they are told by the drug companies (which is often far from the whole story).  Part of the drug companies' control over what gets to doctors is their manipulation of research articles and medical journals.

 

As it happens, the husband of a friend of my wife is an editor (there are ten or so) of the Journal of the American Medical Association, one of the biggies.  In a long, very interesting conversation I had with him he said one of his main jobs was to try and determine if articles submitted to the journal were true.  According to him, much of what is published has been "laundered" by the drug companies, ghost writing is common, and put simply we aren't totally sure that what does get published with regard to drugs is true.  Thus, if all a doctor reads is what the drug rep. provides or what is published in the journals he is likely to often be less educated than he should be (and we expect).

 

I'm glad you noted this.

 

John