rpautrey2
2009-04-22 16:00:57 UTC
Harvard Medical Students Rebel Against Big Pharma Ties
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/18/Harvard-Medical-Students-Rebel-Against-Big-Pharma-Ties.aspx
Two hundred Harvard Medical School students are confronting the
school’s administration, demanding an end to pharmaceutical industry
influence in the classroom.
The students worry that pharmaceutical industry scandals in recent
years, including criminal convictions, billions of dollars in fines,
proof of bias in research and publishing and false marketing claims,
have cast a bad light on the medical profession. The students have
criticized Harvard as being less vigilant than other leading medical
schools in monitoring potential financial conflicts by faculty
members.
Harvard received the lowest possible grade, an “F,” from the American
Medical Student Association, a national group that rates how well
medical schools monitor and control drug industry money.
The students were joined by Dr. Marcia Angell, a faculty member and
former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, who has
vigorously advocated for an end to liaisons between academia and Big
Pharma.
Sources:
Alliance for Human Research Protection March 3, 2009
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Medical schools’ image as unbiased sources of education is
increasingly being tarnished as the truth comes out about their heavy
ties to the drug industry. Even Harvard Medical School, one of the
most prestigious in the United States, recently earned an F for its
policies regarding accepting money and gifts from drug companies.
The grade came from the American Medical Student Association (AMSA),
which ranked 150 medical schools according to their ties to industry.
The more money and other incentives a school was receiving from the
pharmaceutical industry, the worse grade they got.
Harvard earned the lowest grade possible, so kudos to these medical
students who decided to confront the school’s administration for some
much-needed change. According to AMSA:
• Out of Harvard's 8,900 professors and lecturers, 1,600 admit that
they or a family member have ties to drug companies that could bias
their teaching or research.
• The pharmaceutical industry contributed more than $11.5 million to
Harvard in 2008 for “research and continuing education classes.”
The issue has only gotten more heated since the New York Times ran
this article, featuring the story of Matt Zerden, then a first-year
Harvard medical student, who became suspicious after one of his
professors promoted the benefits of cholesterol drugs, and even went
so far as to belittle a student who asked about side effects.
Turns out the professor was not only a member of Harvard’s medical
faculty, but also was a paid consultant to 10 drug companies,
including five makers of cholesterol treatments.
“I felt really violated,” Mr. Zerden, now a fourth-year student, said
in the New York Times. “Here we have 160 open minds trying to learn
the basics in a protected space, and the information he was giving
wasn’t as pure as I think it should be.”
And that really sums up the issue in a nutshell.
How can medical professors teach unbiased, truthful information to
their students when they’re being essentially paid off by drug
companies?
Well, they really can’t, and that’s the problem.
Impressionable medical students are being indoctrinated into the drug-
based model of disease care as we speak. It goes on all the time, and
I can vouch for this personally as I, too, was brainwashed in medical
school to favor the drug paradigm.
In the mid '80s, I was actually a paid speaker for the drug companies.
They would fly me to various physician education events around the
country and pay me a very generous stipend to lecture to these groups.
That was more than two decades ago, before I was able to remove myself
from their very powerful brainwashing techniques -- and I was finally
able to understand the truth of what they were doing.
A Long History of Corruption
In the 19th century, most Americans thrived on more natural approaches
like homeopathic medicine.
Then, in 1847, along came the American Medical Association (AMA). Most
people didn’t trust this new conglomeration, so to gain the power,
money and control they were after, they kept all homeopathic
physicians out of their “club,” and proceeded to call all related
remedies “quackery.”
If you didn’t want to pay to join the club (by advertising in their
medical journal, JAMA), anything you recommended would also be
criticized.
From that point on, the AMA turned into a medical monopoly, taking
control of medical schools and essentially medical students as well.
To put it simply, when the AMA took control of the medical schools,
they made it so that only those who graduated from one of them could
practice medicine.
And since they controlled the schools, guess what was largely taught?
How to use prescription drugs.
This intertwining of the drug industry and medical schools is still
going strong today, with the end result being a medical model that
relies heavily on drugs, surgery and hospital stays, instead of
teaching true healing practices.
What Happens When Industry Gets a Hold of Doctors?
It’s old news that drug companies use aggressive sales tactics to
influence doctors’ prescribing habits, but what may surprise you is
how well these tactics work.
A study a few years back found that drug companies were the greatest
influence on doctors’ decisions of which drugs to prescribe. Further,
about 70 percent of doctors regarded drug representatives as an
efficient way to obtain new drug information!
Of course, they start their pitches even before the doctors are
practicing, while they’re still in medical school.
Drug reps must target doctors, and doctors in training, because a
physician is required for the consumer to purchase their product.
Although in the United States they have also ramped up their direct-to-
consumer ads on television and in magazines, their real “meat and
potatoes” comes from their marketing directly to physicians.
This is one of the primary reasons why drug companies spend $4 billion
each year on direct-to-consumer ads in the United States, but 400%
more, a massive $16 billion, to influence your doctor. That is $10,000
for every single doctor in the United States.
Change is Underway
Fortunately there is a generation of bright medical students entering
the field, and many of them are taking steps to help clean up their
medical education.
Already, AMSA has succeeded in securing a requirement at Harvard that
all professors and lecturers disclose their industry ties in class
(one professor’s disclosure list had 47 company affiliations!).
Amidst all of the bad press, Harvard’s dean also announced that a 19-
member committee will be re-examining the school’s conflict-of-
interest policies.
The inundation of drug companies into the medical field as a whole did
not happen overnight, and it won’t get solved that way either. But
step by step, changes are being made in the right direction.
If you are a student in medical school right now, or planning to enter
soon, please become familiar with AMSA’s PharmFree campaign. Aside
from being a great source of information, their site offers guides and
kits to help you make positive changes, including major policy
reforms, at your own school.
Related Links:
Virtually All U.S. Doctors Accept Money, Freebies from Drug
Companies
Former Drug Sales Rep Tells All
Psychological Warfare Techniques -- Used on Your Doctor
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/18/Harvard-Medical-Students-Rebel-Against-Big-Pharma-Ties.aspx
Two hundred Harvard Medical School students are confronting the
school’s administration, demanding an end to pharmaceutical industry
influence in the classroom.
The students worry that pharmaceutical industry scandals in recent
years, including criminal convictions, billions of dollars in fines,
proof of bias in research and publishing and false marketing claims,
have cast a bad light on the medical profession. The students have
criticized Harvard as being less vigilant than other leading medical
schools in monitoring potential financial conflicts by faculty
members.
Harvard received the lowest possible grade, an “F,” from the American
Medical Student Association, a national group that rates how well
medical schools monitor and control drug industry money.
The students were joined by Dr. Marcia Angell, a faculty member and
former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, who has
vigorously advocated for an end to liaisons between academia and Big
Pharma.
Sources:
Alliance for Human Research Protection March 3, 2009
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Medical schools’ image as unbiased sources of education is
increasingly being tarnished as the truth comes out about their heavy
ties to the drug industry. Even Harvard Medical School, one of the
most prestigious in the United States, recently earned an F for its
policies regarding accepting money and gifts from drug companies.
The grade came from the American Medical Student Association (AMSA),
which ranked 150 medical schools according to their ties to industry.
The more money and other incentives a school was receiving from the
pharmaceutical industry, the worse grade they got.
Harvard earned the lowest grade possible, so kudos to these medical
students who decided to confront the school’s administration for some
much-needed change. According to AMSA:
• Out of Harvard's 8,900 professors and lecturers, 1,600 admit that
they or a family member have ties to drug companies that could bias
their teaching or research.
• The pharmaceutical industry contributed more than $11.5 million to
Harvard in 2008 for “research and continuing education classes.”
The issue has only gotten more heated since the New York Times ran
this article, featuring the story of Matt Zerden, then a first-year
Harvard medical student, who became suspicious after one of his
professors promoted the benefits of cholesterol drugs, and even went
so far as to belittle a student who asked about side effects.
Turns out the professor was not only a member of Harvard’s medical
faculty, but also was a paid consultant to 10 drug companies,
including five makers of cholesterol treatments.
“I felt really violated,” Mr. Zerden, now a fourth-year student, said
in the New York Times. “Here we have 160 open minds trying to learn
the basics in a protected space, and the information he was giving
wasn’t as pure as I think it should be.”
And that really sums up the issue in a nutshell.
How can medical professors teach unbiased, truthful information to
their students when they’re being essentially paid off by drug
companies?
Well, they really can’t, and that’s the problem.
Impressionable medical students are being indoctrinated into the drug-
based model of disease care as we speak. It goes on all the time, and
I can vouch for this personally as I, too, was brainwashed in medical
school to favor the drug paradigm.
In the mid '80s, I was actually a paid speaker for the drug companies.
They would fly me to various physician education events around the
country and pay me a very generous stipend to lecture to these groups.
That was more than two decades ago, before I was able to remove myself
from their very powerful brainwashing techniques -- and I was finally
able to understand the truth of what they were doing.
A Long History of Corruption
In the 19th century, most Americans thrived on more natural approaches
like homeopathic medicine.
Then, in 1847, along came the American Medical Association (AMA). Most
people didn’t trust this new conglomeration, so to gain the power,
money and control they were after, they kept all homeopathic
physicians out of their “club,” and proceeded to call all related
remedies “quackery.”
If you didn’t want to pay to join the club (by advertising in their
medical journal, JAMA), anything you recommended would also be
criticized.
From that point on, the AMA turned into a medical monopoly, taking
control of medical schools and essentially medical students as well.
To put it simply, when the AMA took control of the medical schools,
they made it so that only those who graduated from one of them could
practice medicine.
And since they controlled the schools, guess what was largely taught?
How to use prescription drugs.
This intertwining of the drug industry and medical schools is still
going strong today, with the end result being a medical model that
relies heavily on drugs, surgery and hospital stays, instead of
teaching true healing practices.
What Happens When Industry Gets a Hold of Doctors?
It’s old news that drug companies use aggressive sales tactics to
influence doctors’ prescribing habits, but what may surprise you is
how well these tactics work.
A study a few years back found that drug companies were the greatest
influence on doctors’ decisions of which drugs to prescribe. Further,
about 70 percent of doctors regarded drug representatives as an
efficient way to obtain new drug information!
Of course, they start their pitches even before the doctors are
practicing, while they’re still in medical school.
Drug reps must target doctors, and doctors in training, because a
physician is required for the consumer to purchase their product.
Although in the United States they have also ramped up their direct-to-
consumer ads on television and in magazines, their real “meat and
potatoes” comes from their marketing directly to physicians.
This is one of the primary reasons why drug companies spend $4 billion
each year on direct-to-consumer ads in the United States, but 400%
more, a massive $16 billion, to influence your doctor. That is $10,000
for every single doctor in the United States.
Change is Underway
Fortunately there is a generation of bright medical students entering
the field, and many of them are taking steps to help clean up their
medical education.
Already, AMSA has succeeded in securing a requirement at Harvard that
all professors and lecturers disclose their industry ties in class
(one professor’s disclosure list had 47 company affiliations!).
Amidst all of the bad press, Harvard’s dean also announced that a 19-
member committee will be re-examining the school’s conflict-of-
interest policies.
The inundation of drug companies into the medical field as a whole did
not happen overnight, and it won’t get solved that way either. But
step by step, changes are being made in the right direction.
If you are a student in medical school right now, or planning to enter
soon, please become familiar with AMSA’s PharmFree campaign. Aside
from being a great source of information, their site offers guides and
kits to help you make positive changes, including major policy
reforms, at your own school.
Related Links:
Virtually All U.S. Doctors Accept Money, Freebies from Drug
Companies
Former Drug Sales Rep Tells All
Psychological Warfare Techniques -- Used on Your Doctor