Some Conflicts of Interest in Medicine Cannot Be Managed, Should Be Banned

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From The BMJ Opinion: “One recommendation put forward by the Cumberlege review is that the General Medical Council (GMC) should maintain a publicly available list of the financial interests held by practising doctors.

But, while greater transparency about the nature of the financial interests is important, on its own, such a move is unlikely to mitigate the risks to patient safety and may make matters worse.

In the first place, such a policy has the potential to normalise the conflicts between the interest of the patient and the financial interests of the doctor . . .

Moreover, it is doubtful whether it will be possible to distinguish payments that inappropriately influence clinical decision making from those which are made for contributing to scientific innovations.

Another issue with the proposed policy is that it puts the onus on the patient to ensure that their doctor is safe to practise . . . However, ‘caveat emptor’ or ‘buyer beware’ should never be a principle which applies within healthcare.”

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3 COMMENTS

  1. “However, ‘caveat emptor’ or ‘buyer beware’ should never be a principle which applies within healthcare.”

    I agree it shouldn’t. Unfortunately, since our doctors have pharmaceutical industry funded delusions – like the belief that opioids are “safe pain meds” and antidepressants are “safe smoking cessation meds” – “trust your doctor” is not wise advise today.

    For goodness sakes, these delusional beliefs of the doctors have created both a modern day iatrogenic opioid epidemic, as well as an antidepressant and ADHD drug induced bipolar epidemic. But these iatrogenic epidemics are very “profitable” for the doctors.

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  2. There should be public advertising regarding all invented “illness”
    Advertising is presenting a concept as “fact”, and equally,
    the opposite concepts should be advertised to the public, let the public decide.

    When information is only available in closed arenas, it is loss of freedom of speech,
    loss of freedoms to make choices.

    There would be no need for “public lists” if advertising was only allowed by those with factual
    information.
    Surprisingly, survivors can’t pay enough to become visible on global scales. Fund us.

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