The ethics of this radical drug experiment is being challenged by Dr. Jerald Block, a forthright psychiatrist and experienced system's analyst. His critical appraisal, published in the Bioethics Forum, Hastings Center Report.
The Whistleblower: Confessions of a Healthcare Hitman by Dr. Peter Rost, published by Soft Skull Press.
The New York Times reports: "For big drug companies, the new Medicare prescription benefit is proving to be a financial windfall larger than even the most optimistic Wall Street analysts had predicted."
Off-label prescribing of drugs for unapproved uses puts consumers at high risk of harm–but it is the single most lucrative marketing strategy.
Medical researchers who commit fraud and research misconduct are caught only when a person of conscience steps up to the plate and blows the whistle. There are no systemic, independent checks and balances to prevent research fraud or abuse of patients.
Cost and Consequence: drug “cocktails” deplete Medicaid_Globe Tue, 24 Jun 2003 The escalating cost of healthcare is in large measure due tothe spiraling expenditure on drugs–many of which are misprescribed.The Boston Globe reports about one Medicaid patient who is prescribed18 medications at a cost of roughly $16,000 a year–“all at…
Not-So-Public-Relations: Drug Industry & Bioethics – is it casuistry or sophistry? Fri, 19 Dec 2003 Carl Elliott is a clear eyed academic who teaches bioethics at the University of Minnesota . He is currently a visiting associate professor at School of Social Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton….
Bush Plans to Screen Whole US Population for Mental Illness – BMJ Thu, 24 Jun 2004 A second article in the British Medical Journal discloses additional evidence uncovered by Allen Jones, the whistle blower from the Pennsylvania Inspector General’s Office. The first BMJ article focused on the Texas Medication Algorithm…
Antidepressant Use in Children Soars Despite Efficacy Doubts – Washington Post Mon, 19 Apr 2004 A front page article by Shankar Vedantam in The Washington Post examines the soaring increase in the antidepressant drug prescriptions for children, noting: “The explosion in antidepressant use occurred even though the vast majority of…
Lilly Shares Fall After BMJ Report About Prozac Documents – NYT Sat, 1 Jan 2005 The New York Times reports that Jeanne Lenzer’s investigative report in the current (Jan 1) British Medical Journal, citing Eli Lilly secret documents showing that company officials knew since 1988 that Prozac increased violent and…
Fast growing business: Unethical clinical trials in India – Asia Times Tue, 27 Jul 2004 Asia Times reports: “India increasingly emerges as a preferred destination for outsourcing clinical trials – testing of new drugs on humans – the country may also be heading toward providing the greatest source of human…
Merck / Johnson & Johnson/ Lilly-Zyprexa: $690 Million settlement / a Flowering of Diabetes Drugs Fri, 10 Jun 2005 A cluster of news reports about three pillars of the pharmaceutical industry– Merck, Eli Lilly, and Johnson & Johnson–leave no doubt that this industry has shown its disregard for the welfare…
