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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, 2009Change 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.
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.
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:
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.”
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 Associationso
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.
(AMA). Most people didn’t trust this new conglomeration,
Then, in 1847, along came the American Medical Associationso
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.
(AMA). Most people didn’t trust this new conglomeration,
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.
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.
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.
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/18/Harvard-Medical-Students-Rebel-Against-Big-Pharma-Ties.aspx
Related Links:
Psychological Warfare Techniques -- Used on Your Doctorhttps://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/04/18/Harvard-Medical-Students-Rebel-Against-Big-Pharma-Ties.aspx