The revelation in recent articles in the Seattle Times
and follow-up articles and editorials in the New York Times
about clinical investigators who were being paid $200 – $1000 for giving advice and opinions to investment firms is
just another example of how blind some physicians are, either consciously or subconsciously, to how their financial
conflicts of interest can influence the validity of scientific information. In my book “On The Take: How Medicine’s
Complicity With Big Business Can Endanger Your Health,”, on this blog and in testimony before Congress, I have cited numerous examples of how payments from
the pharmaceutical industry can affect patient care, clinical research, and influence the quality of medical
information.
I view giving any information about ongoing clinical trials to investment companies equally unethical. It not only
violates contracts with the companies funding the research, but could influence the results of such trials. The New
York Times in an editorial on August 17 called for medical societies to issue ethical guidelines that would stop such
practices. They should have gone one step further, by suggesting that professional societies should also announce
new guidelines to prohibit even more common practices such as membership on industry’s speaker’s bureaus, paid
collaborations with industry to develop educational materials, and paid consultations with industry on marketing
issues.
Let’s keep up the heat on financial arrangements that affect fundamental aspects of medical practice and clinical
research.
– Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D., Distinguished Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine and
Professor (Adjunct) of Medicine and Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University
.
Dr Kassirer: You may be interested to know that at least one blog has posted substantial items on this topic, so it *is* becoming more well-known:
http://www.mppllc.com/pages/2005/08/physician-heal-thyself-i.html
and
http://www.mppllc.com/pages/2005/08/physician-heal-thyself-ii.html
Worth checking out.
Hello,
I’m a 17 year old female in high school. This is my junior year and I’ve been seriously considering becoming a doctor. I’ve been spending time reading about medical school and these premeds were basically saying that that premed students dropped out, didn’t get accepted, and raved how difficult the exams are. I know medical school isn’t easy and it’s a life commitment and competitive. I don’t want to take the easy way out. I want to be successful. I’m very dedicated to my work and I’m asking you for some advice and recommendations.