Undoing Undue Industry Influence: Lessons from Psychiatry as Psychopharmacology
Lisa Cosgrove and Harold J. Bursztajn
All of us count on our physicians to keep up to date on the development
of new disorders and medications. But what if our physicians inadvertently
relied on biased, inaccurate, or incomplete information? What if the
researchers who provide expert testimony to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) about the validity of new, highly controversial disorders had financial
ties to the drug companies that will directly profit from the creation
of those disorders? What if negative side-effect profiles -- some potentially
life-threatening -- were hidden from the FDA and from the public?
Unfortunately, these are not merely hypothetical situations.
. . .
The field of psychiatry, with other medical specialties, has made some
progress in developing and revising conflict-of-interest policies. Developing
more substantive policies requires, at the very least, attention to the
issue of hidden ties and the inclusion of industry critics in the revision
and implementation of these policies. Otherwise, it will not be possible
to protect patients' welfare or the scientific integrity of the field.
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