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Re: Health Research and Care in America: a Bright, Shining Lie
From: lauren (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Mon Jan 27 12:23:26 2003
I've said it before and I'll say it again -- doctors and drug companies
work together to sell a product -- health care. We are their consumers.
The money for medical research does not come from nowhere -- and most of
the time, people are in business to make money (duh), meaning they
invest in something they think they can get a return on, i.e., research
that will help them to sell their product. I am so glad that you have
brought this to our attention, but I can't say it surprises me.
This is yet another reason why all of us should take the studies we see
reported and the advice of anyone who stands to gain financially from
our pursuing a certain treatment program with a grain of salt. But when
you see an ad on TV for a new fad diet, you do the same thing. We just
need to learn that doctors and medical researchers are not totally
different from any other business people in the world. Any kind of
unconditional trust we may have placed in them was always misplaced: you
have to make your own decisions based on a broad base of opinions,
because any one person (or corporation) is always fallible and subject
to financial pressures which conflict with your own best interest. So I
think the moral is not "don't trust anyone," but rather "view any advice
you get skeptically, do independat research, find out who proferred the
new theory and what their financial interest is, and basically take care
of yourself because very few other people put you at the top of their
priority list."
At Mon, 27 Jan 2003, anonymous wrote:
>
>Got this from another forum I read daily. Apparently we just can't
>trust anyone; doctors, organizations, hospitals, no one. Everyone is in
>it for the money and the patient's needs and concerns are LAST in line.
>
>Pervasive Medical Research Conflicts Found
>January 23, 2003, Acurian
>
>Source: Associated Press
>By LINDSEY TANNER AP Medical Writer
>
>About one-fourth of university-based medical researchers receive funding
>from drug companies - ties that sometimes distort study results,
>according to a review done by two researchers with industry connections
>of their own.
>
>Yale University researchers Justin Bekelman and Dr. Cary Gross said
>they found "strong and consistent evidence that industry-sponsored
>research tends to draw pro-industry conclusions."
>
>"Anecdotal reports suggest that industry may alter, obstruct or even
>stop publication of negative studies," they said. "Such restrictions
>seem counter productive to the arguments in favor of academic-industry
>collaboration, namely encouraging knowledge and technology transfer."
>
>While industry influence on research has made headlines in recent years
>and prompted calls for reform, the new analysis attempts to quantify the
>prevalence by combining results from 37 previous studies on the extent
>and effect of such ties. The studies included data through 2000.
>
>The results suggest that roughly two-thirds of the nation's academic
>institutions hold stock in start-up companies that sponsor research
>performed at the same institution.
>
>The review says that the industry share of investment in U.S. biomedical
>research increased from about 32 percent in 1980 to 62 percent in 2000.
>The government's role has shrunk.
>
>Gross has served as a consultant and scientific advisory board member to
>Astra-Zeneca, and Bekelman has done consulting for Turbogenomics Inc.
>
>"Our industry ties may give us a little more credibility" in writing the
>review, Gross said. "We're trying to look at what is known and isn't
>known about industry collaboration but not from a perspective that
>industry is evil and up to no good."
>
>Industry ties are vital and have resulted in important medical advances,
>but they need to be better disclosed and better monitored, the two
>researchers said.
>
>Their review appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical
>Association. JAMA has published numerous recent articles on the issue
>and joined several other major medical journals two years ago in
>strengthening financial disclosure requirements for research they
>publish.
>
>"The vast majority of university medical centers are very much aware
>that they've got to tighten up their oversight to make sure they don't
>undermine public confidence," said Dr. David Korn, senior vice
>president for research policy at the Association of American Medical
>Colleges. "I do think the community is beginning to respond."
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