“You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.”
— William Wilberforce
The Madras High Court in India stated that 8,667 pharmaceutical companies have claimed income tax deduction on the freebies they give to doctors as “sales promotion expenses” and “gifts” in their tax return for the year 2019-20.1 In January 2020, the Court had taken suo motu cognizance (when courts in India take a case on […]
A white paper released in January 2020 by the Foundation for the Innovation and Development of Health Safety shows that 20-25 percent of patients are harmed by medical errors in primary and ambulatory care (outpatient) in both developed countries like the U.S. and Europe and in developing countries. Primary and ambulatory care is one of […]
A new report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.6 million people die annually in low-and middle-income countries from medical errors, and that most of those deaths are related to misdiagnosis and administration of pharmaceutical products. According to the WHO, “Four out of every ten patients are harmed during primary and ambulatory […]
Story Highlights Addiction to and death from prescription painkillers is now a public health crisis in the United States. In the early 1990s, medical “experts” and “thought leaders” made claims convincing the medical community and the public that prescription painkillers were non-addictive when used in the long-term. Financial conflict of interest between opioid manufacturers and […]
Story Highlights A recent survey released by Merritt Hawkins reveals that not only are American hospitals and clinics facing a shortage of primary care physicians but also a shortage of medical specialists. The survey attributes this to an aging population. However, the report also reveals that there is a shortage of pediatric subspecialties indicating a […]
Story Highlights The United Kingdom’s Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has moved to stop accepting any funds from manufacturers of infant formula. The formula companies have a long history of questionable marketing ploys, particularly targeting poor and uneducated women in developing countries. The benefits of exclusively feeding babies with breast milk for […]
A recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that expenditures on medical marketing in the United States significantly increased between 1997 and 2016. The study showed that spending on medical marketing rose from $17.7 billion in 1997 to $29.9 billion in 2016.1 Health care spending in the U.S. is […]
Story Highlights Physician scientists are failing to disclose their financial ties to drug and health care companies in medical journals that publish scientific research widely considered to be reputable, and journals are failing to enforce disclosure requirements. The collaboration between the pharmaceutical industry and medical journals compromises public trust. These financial relationships between medical journals and the pharmaceutical industry […]
Story Highlights New gene therapies offer unprecedented hope for permanent cures of serious diseases and hold the promise of an invaluable societal impact. In a report to their biotech clients, investment giant Goldman Sachs questions whether curative therapies are a viable business model. Using Gilead Science’s hepatitis C drug as an example, the report noted […]
Think about the last time you visited a medical office. The nurse ushers you into the examination room. He or she then proceeds to ask you questions from a checklist on a laptop while simultaneously typing in your responses. The nurse barely makes eye contact with you. After the checklist is completed, an algorithm…