Members of the PRESS in New York and Washington DC will have an opportunity to attend one or both conferences. The issues to be debated continue to be front page news–see earlier Infomail and today’ Washington Post.
1. "Biomedical Research and the Law" a two day conference organized by Hofstra University Law School: the impact of conflicts of interest on medicine will be debated. Hempstead, NY: Wednesday-Thursday, October 4-5:
2. "Mental Health and the Law," sponsored by the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, Inc. (ICSPP) in collaboration with The American University College of Law: the focus is the collision between individual patients’ rights and mental health providers. Washington DC: Saurday-Monday, October 7–9.
I will attend the conference at Hofstra while two other AHRP board members, Dr. Stefan Kruszeuski and Dr. Karen Effrem will be in attendance as plenary speakers at the ICSPP conference. See impressive (partial) speakers’ rosters below.
Contact: Vera Hassner Sharav
"Biomedical Research and the Law" Contact: Contact: Patti Desrochers (516) 463-4142 or Ginny Greenberg (516) 463-6819 http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/law_biomed.pdf
The impressive array of speakers whose strongly held opposing views will address key issues in the current heated debate about: The Pharmaceutical Industry and Its Relationship With Government, Academia, Physicians and Consumers. The timely topics to be addressed:
• Has funding of biomedical research by the pharmaceutical industry affected the reliability of information derived from that research?
• How does industry funding affect the integtrity of the research, researchers, Academic institutions, government agencies, physicians, professional organizations, medical journals?
• How does the law protect the credibility of information from industry-funded biomedical research?
Speakers include representatives of PhRMA, Pfizer, FDA, and academics who defend medicine’s current interdependent financial ties to industry.
They will be challenged by outspoken authoritative critics who call for major reforms to disengage the corrupting influence of industry from academic medical research:
The Keynote address is by Eric J. Topol, M.D.Professor of Genetics Case Western Reserve University who will speak about:
"Vioxx: Industry’s Relationship With Government, Academia and Physicians"
Congressman Maurice Hinchey of N.Y. will discuss his legislative initiative, the FDA Improvement Act of 2005 (H.R. 2090).
In addition to a distinguished slate of Hofstra Law faculty, including the Dean, Dr. Aaron Twerski, the speakers include:
John Abramson, M.D. Faculty, Harvard Medical School Author, Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine, 2004, who will speak about:
"The Reliability of Knowledge as a Product of Industry’s Relationships"
Philip J. Hilts Journalist and Author, Protecting America’s Health: The FDA, Business, and One Hundred Years of Regulation, 2003.
"FDA and the History of the Regulation of Industry’s Relationships"
Merrill Goozner, Director, Integrity in Science Project, Center in the Public Interest, author, The 800 Million Pill: The Truth Behind the Cost of New Drugs, 2004.
Marvin Lipman, MD, Chief Medical Advisor, Consumers Union–Bias in Direct to Consumer Advertising and Its Effect on Drug Safety"
Rachel Behrman, MD, MPH, Director, Office of Critical Path Programs, FDA–"FDA: Protecting and Promoting the Public Healsth in the Era of Critical Path"
Jesse Goldner, JD, Professor Pediatrics and Professor of Law in Psychiatry, St. Louis University–The Effect of Laws Pertaining to Accreditation and Institutional Review Boards"
Peter Hutt, LL.B, LL.M, Harvard Law School, Senior Counsel Covington & Burling, Former Chief Counsel, FDA–"Does the FDA Have Sufficient Statutory Authority to Achieve Its Congressional Mandate?"
Kenneth Kaltin, Ph.D, Director, Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development– "Increasing Challenge of Bringing New Drugs to Market"
Scott Lassman, JD, Pharmaceutical Reearch and Manufacturers of America (PhRRMA)- -"Self-Regulation of Bias and Conflicts of Interest"
Justin McCarthy, JD, General Counsel Pfizer Global–"Laws Regulating Industry’s Relationships: A response to a Crisis of Trust"
Thomas Stossel, MD, Professor, Harvard Medical School–"Regulating Financaila Conflicts of Interest in Medicine: A Solution in Search of a Problem"
The Co-Chairs: Janet Dolgin, Distinguished Professor of Health Care Law, Hofstra and Joel Weintraub MD, JD
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"BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND THE LAW" Hofstra Law School Hempstead NY, Library, 10 floor: Wednesday and Thursday, October 4-5, 2006 Registration 8:00 AM
Directions, Brochure online at: http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/law_biomed.pdf For additional information: Contact: Contact: Patti Desrochers (516) 463-4142 or Ginny Greenberg (516) 463-6819
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2. MENTAL HEALTH AND THE LAW will focus on the real-life intersection between mental health and the law: http://psychrights.org/education/ICSPP06/ICSPP06Brochure.pdf
The rights of children and adults will be presented as well as how these rights are honored or dishonored in practice.
The role of science is included in the curriculum as is the role of alternatives to the traditional, coercive interventions against those diagnosed with mental illness.
There will also be a two-session program on risk management and privacy for psychotherapists/counselors who work without drugging patients/clients: avoiding HIPPA.
Plenary Speakers:
Robert Dinerstein, JD, professor of law at co-host American University’s Washington College of Law, specializing in the Americans with Disabilities Act and the rights of people labeled with mental illness, disability laws in general, homelessness, civil rights, criminal justice, and lawyer-client issues.
Graham Dukes, M.D., L.L.M., of Oslo, Norway is the author, editor or co-author of ten principle books, including The Law and Ethics of the Pharmaceutical Industry, and has some 270 publications on national and international health and drug policies and pricing in the scientific, medical and legal literature He has numerous appointments, including being the Senior Consultant on Drug Policy for The World Bank Dr. Dukes will be speaking on "Pharmaceuticals and Drug Policy."
Michael Perlin, JD, New York Law School professor and author of The Hidden Prejudice: Mental Disability on Trial, fourteen other books, and well over 175 scholarly articles on all aspects of mental health law. Professor Perlin will be speaking on "International Human Rights and Mental Disability Law: The Universal Factors."
Stefan P Kruszewski M.D., psychiatrist of conscience, was fired by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Bureau of Program Integrity after uncovering fiscal and pharmaceutical corruption and patient abuse, resulting in grievous harm to children and adults , including multiple deaths. Dr. Kruszewski’s topic is "What happens when the 1st Amendment butts heads with Special Interests."
Susan Stefan, JD, former professor at University of Miami School of Law and author of Unequal Rights: Discrimination against People with Mental Disabilities and the Americans with Disabilities Act and Hollow Promises: Employment Discrimination Against People with Mental Disabilities, as well as numerous articles and chapters on mental health law and disability law. Ms. Stefan will be speaking on "Evolving Legal Views of Psychiatric Evidence."
Peter Breggin, M.D, Founder of ICSPP, noted author of numerous scientific publications including Toxic Psychiatry and Talking Back to Prozac, will be speaking on "Medication Spellbinding (Iatrogenic Anosognosia): A New Concept."
Lawyers Panel on "Prescription Drugs: Civil and Criminal Liability Cases and Concepts." High-powered litigation lawyers, Andy Vickery, Don Farber, Michael Mosher and Derek Braslow join Dr. Breggin in a panel discussion of the concepts behind prescription drug litigation and how they have played out in specific important cases.
Grace Jackson, M.D., author of Rethinking Psychiatric Drugs: A Guide to Informed Consent and psychiatrist of conscience. Dr. Jackson will be speaking on "Parens patriae, parens inscius: Beware the Dangers of the Incompetent State."
Karen Effrem, M.D., will be speaking on "The Origins and Dangers of Child Mental Health Screening."
Jim Gottstein, JD, President and CEO of the Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights), recently won the landmark Myers Alaska Supreme Court case which declared Alaska’s forced drugging regime unconstitutional, including that forced psychiatric drugging is unconstitutional if there is a less intrusive alternative. PsychRights’ mission is to mount a strategic legal campaign against court ordered psychiatric drugging and Mr. Gottstein will be speaking on "A Coordinated Campaign To Successfully Change the Mental Illness System."
Joseph Glenmullen, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, and author of Prozac Backlash and The Antidepressant Solution will speak on "SSRIs, Akathisia, and Suicidality: The History of the FDA’s 2005 Black Box Warning on Antidepressant-Induced Suicidality."
Thomas Bratter, Ed.D., Founder, President, and Primary Clinician of the John Dewey Academy has over twenty years of practical and teaching experience and published more than 150 articles and four books on treatment and education of bright, oppositional, self-destructive, often drug dependent adolescents.
Additionally there will be workshops: See: Brochure, additional information and registration form at: http://psychrights.org/education/ICSPP06/ICSPP06Brochure.pdf
MENTAL HEALTH AND THE LAW
Washington, D.C., October, 7, 8, and 9, 2006
DoubleTree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center of Bethesda,
8120 Wisconsin Ave, Bethesda, MD 20815, 301-652-2000