Medical “Experts” Were Wrong About the Safety of Opioids
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 […]
Big Shortage of Doctors for Chronically Ill Americans
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 […]
U.K. Pediatricians Refuse Money from Baby Formula Companies
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 […]
Medical Marketing in the U.S. Increases to $30 Billion
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 […]
Physician Scientists Fail to Disclose Pharma Conflicts of Interest in Medical Journals
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 […]
Goldman Sachs Exposes the Cure Dilemma
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 […]