Pharmaceutical giants hire ghostwriters to produce articles - then put doctors' names

[wum]

Revealed: how drug firms 'hoodwink' medical journals


Hundreds of articles in medical journals claiming to be written by academics or doctors have been penned by ghostwriters in the pay of drug companies, an Observer inquiry reveals.

The journals, bibles of the profession, have huge influence on which drugs doctors prescribe and the treatment hospitals provide. But The Observer has uncovered evidence that many articles written by so-called independent academics may have been penned by writers working for agencies which receive huge sums from drug companies to plug their products.

Estimates suggest that almost half of all articles published in journals are by ghostwriters. While doctors who have put their names to the papers can be paid handsomely for 'lending' their reputations, the ghostwriters remain hidden. They, and the involvement of the pharmaceutical firms, are rarely revealed.

These papers endorsing certain drugs are paraded in front of GPs as independent research to persuade them to prescribe the drugs.

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holla

[Gusto]

this all comes down to the doctors. are they willing to put their name on something that is dangerous, doesn't work, etc? if they are willing to do that, they could have been paid to write a biased article to begin with. i don't think it matters that someone else wrote it, doctors aren't necessarily writers, but the doctor who stamps the article with his name/approval should be held responsible.

[Gusto]

k maybe i misread that, maybe a doctor doesn't need to be involved at all. isn't there some kind of approval process for these journals?

[wum]

Another reason why the FDA or any other government body is a sham (N)

[SEAN!]

Originally Posted by wum

Revealed: how drug firms 'hoodwink' medical journals


Hundreds of articles in medical journals claiming to be written by academics or doctors have been penned by ghostwriters in the pay of drug companies, an Observer inquiry reveals.

The journals, bibles of the profession, have huge influence on which drugs doctors prescribe and the treatment hospitals provide. But The Observer has uncovered evidence that many articles written by so-called independent academics may have been penned by writers working for agencies which receive huge sums from drug companies to plug their products.

Estimates suggest that almost half of all articles published in journals are by ghostwriters. While doctors who have put their names to the papers can be paid handsomely for 'lending' their reputations, the ghostwriters remain hidden. They, and the involvement of the pharmaceutical firms, are rarely revealed.

These papers endorsing certain drugs are paraded in front of GPs as independent research to persuade them to prescribe the drugs.

---------------

holla

this isnt new to me, and most peer reviewed articles are not considered independant in anyway as most of the clinical trials done on meds are paid for by pharma companies. Doctors rarely do trials out of their own pocket.

as for ghostwriting, im not sure about that academics can get in alot of shit when their articles are plagarised or their experiments are faked.

[SEAN!]

Originally Posted by gusto

k maybe i misread that, maybe a doctor doesn't need to be involved at all. isn't there some kind of approval process for these journals?

they all have to be peer reviewed by other academics according to the guidelines of the specific journal before they are published.

[SEAN!]

Originally Posted by wum

Another reason why the FDA or any other government body is a sham (N)

the fda is a sham.

liek i said most of their testing and trials are funded by the drug companies who develop the drugs.

p.s you need to make a fourth option on your poll: "i dont give a shit.'

[wum]

Originally Posted by SEAN!

the fda is a sham.

liek i said most of their testing and trials are funded by the drug companies who develop the drugs.

p.s you need to make a fourth option on your poll: "i dont give a shit.'

that would be the same as 'bad'

[wum]

Anyway, I think the point I want to make with this is that for all the liberal communist scum out there who think that without government intervention, the free market would turn corrupt... Look at the fucking monster you've created. Capitalism + Government intervention = Corporatism, which has unlimited potential for corruption.

[Senior]

Originally Posted by wum

Anyway, I think the point I want to make with this is that for all the liberal communist scum out there who think that without government intervention, the free market would turn corrupt... Look at the fucking monster you've created. Capitalism + Government intervention = Corporatism, which has unlimited potential for corruption.

So young anfd naive, looking for a utpopian solution to things. Wake up little guy, there is no perfect solution. The system we have isn't perfect but it could be a lot worse. Do you think that the average American or for that matter Iraqi (Iraq is probably the closest thing to a libertarian governemnt) is better off due to having less government intervention with regards to the economy?

[Senior]

As for the FDA. Like so many things American money talks and the pharma giants have a lot. They often get their way unless there is extreme evidince to suggest their drug is unsafe. BGH was a prime example of that. If I was an American I'd be really pissed off at the way that all works.

[wum]

i think people talk down to me because of my avatar.

[wum]

Originally Posted by Senior

So young anfd naive, looking for a utpopian solution to things. Wake up little guy, there is no perfect solution. The system we have isn't perfect but it could be a lot worse. Do you think that the average American or for that matter Iraqi (Iraq is probably the closest thing to a libertarian governemnt) is better off due to having less government intervention with regards to the economy?

why don't you just admit what you are...















RED!!!!

[tvmann]

I know a few people who have seen psychiatrists and it's interesting - all the shrink does is decide which drug(s) he's gonna prescribe. No psychotherapy or anything like that. Pills cure all, or that's what the medical/drug industry would have us believe.

In many cases any intelligent person could also decide which pill to use, just from reading web pages for a few hours, and I'm sure a nurse could do this task. But the shrink gets a few hundred grand a year for doing this, and there's a shortage of shrinks and they don't let anyone else do the prescribing, so lots of mentally-ill people get no help, not even pills. This is one of the reasons we have lots of wackos running around.

SNAFFU! (Situation Normal, All FFokked Up)

[MissBehavior]

Wow...I'm surprised it took you so long to hear about this, wummy...I read articles about this close to a year ago...

[wum]

i knew they were corrupt, by ghost writing medical journals, hmm

[esoter1c]

Lance Armstrong is Skull n Bones.

He's sponsored by Pills.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

7 Tore D Franks now is it ?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm ?

[wum]

he has special reptilian blood

[Grapes]

Capitalism + Government intervention = Corporatism,

Oh, so deregulation (complete lack of government control) is the way to go then, right?

You can watch the recent documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room", particularly the part regarding Enron and their abuse of California's power structure, to see how well that little theory played out.

I just don't understand your logic. Captialism with Government intervention is supposed to lead to Corporations having too much power? Then what the fuck does Capitalism WITHOUT Government intervention lead to? Like letting a pitbull off its leash, if you ask me. And we see the evidence of that in George Bush's America constantly.

[wum]

Originally Posted by Grapes

Oh, so deregulation (complete lack of government control) is the way to go then, right?

that is correct.

[Senior]

Originally Posted by wum

that is correct.

Once again you need no one's help to look like a complete ass!

[wum]

Originally Posted by Senior

Once again you need no one's help to look like a complete ass!

you're mean:(

[esoter1c]

Sorry Wumski, Anarchy don't woik.

[wum]

paid for by chase manhattan

[PHUNK]

again, nothing new wum.

its pretty much common sense that drug companies do that sort of thing.