Vikas Saini: Protecting Patients From Excessive Medicine
In this piece for the BMJ, Jeanne Lenzer profiles Vikas Saini, a cardiologist who is working to fight against excessive medical treatment. His work with...
Investigation Reveals Alarming ECT Practices in England
Audit of ECT usage, demographics, and adherence to guidelines and legislation raises concern over its continued use.
Patient Advocacy Groups Aren’t Always What They Seem
From HealthNewsReview.org: Recent studies have shown that well over half of patient advocacy groups accept money from drug, biotech, or medical device companies, and nearly...
I’m Reinventing Mental Health Care by Putting Patients in Charge
In this piece for The Guardian, Joy Hibbins describes how her experiences of powerlessness as a mental health service user led her to start Suicide...
Antidepressant Use May Increase Risk of Diabetes
New study confirms previous evidence that antidepressant use is linked to developing type 2 diabetes.
“Evidence-Based Medicine”: Corporate Medicine’s Instrument
From Medium: The notion of "evidence-based medicine" is that a particular treatment is considered effective if research finds it safe and efficacious in the majority...
Nonprofit Organization Pushes Big Pharma’s Agenda
From HealthNewsReview.org: The Alliance for Patient Access (AfPA), a nonprofit organization that claims to advocate for patients to have access to FDA-approved treatments, has consistently worked...
Type 2 Diabetes and Antidepressant Use: Is There a Causal Link?
From EndocrinologyAdvisor: A recent meta-analysis suggests that antidepressant drug use may increase patients' risk of diabetes. According to the lead investigator, over 1 million diabetes...
Film Highlights Harm From Benzo Overuse
From The Right Care Alliance: Documentary filmmaker and benzodiazepine survivor Holly Hardman is currently working on a film called As Prescribed, which will document the stories...
Can Therapists Really Share Their Power?
From Psychology Today: It has become increasingly trendy for therapists to talk about sharing their power or even giving away their power to clients. However,...
Whistleblowers at Research Institutions Fear Retaliation
From The Washington Post: A new investigative report on deterrents in reporting problems with human research found evidence of fear of retaliation among whistleblowers in...
Payment Disclosure Bill is a Good First Step, but More is Needed
From The Globe and Mail: Ontario's newly proposed physician-payment disclosure law is an important first step in the direction of improved health care and increased...
Ontario Bill Will Reveal Drug Company Payments to Doctors
From the Toronto Star: The province of Ontario has introduced a new transparency bill that will require pharmaceutical and medical device companies to disclose payments they make...
Representative Tim Murphy Resigns From Congress
From The Washington Post: Representative Tim Murphy, who has worked to decrease the civil rights of those labeled mentally ill, has announced that he will...
Implant ‘Restores Consciousness’ to Man in Vegetative State
From The Guardian: A 35-year-old man who had been in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) for 15 years has shown signs of consciousness after receiving...
Antidepressants Increase Risk of Death, Study Finds
Antidepressants are commonly considered safe and effective treatments. However, research has questioned their efficacy, and now, their safety.
Alcohol Industry is Misleading Consumers About Cancer Risk
From MinnPost: According to an international team of researchers, the alcohol industry is misleading the public by misrepresenting and downplaying evidence linking alcohol consumption with cancer.
"For...
Dr. Vinay Prasad Takes on Big Pharma and Big Medicine
In this piece for STAT, Meghana Keshavan profiles Dr. Vinay Prasad, a physician who has become an influential voice in the medical community through his...
Challenges in Measuring Low-Value Healthcare
Differences in patient-centric versus service-centric measures make quantifying low-value care difficult.
What Happens When You Stop Taking Psychiatric Medications
From Pacific Standard: A new study surveyed people who have come off psychiatric medications to come up with information doctors can use to help support their...
Marijuana Research: Overcoming the Barriers
From APA Science Advocacy: As an increasing number of states are beginning to legalize the medicinal and/or recreational use of marijuana, it is clear that...
Coroner Finds Anti-Smoking Drug Contributed to Man’s Suicide
From ABC: A Queensland Coroner has found that the anti-smoking drug Champix played a role in the suicide of a 22-year-old man, Timothy John, who...
More Follow Up Needed for Drugs Granted Accelerated FDA Approval
Drugs to treat serious or life-threatening conditions can receive accelerated FDA approval, but may expose patients to increased safety risks and reduced efficacy.
Study Finds Antidepressants Increase Risk of Death
From the New York Post: A recent study found that taking antidepressant drugs increases the risk of death by 33 percent. Those who take antidepressants were...
A Blow to STAT’s Credibility: Ghostwriting/PR Influence
From HealthNewsReview.org: STAT recently published an op-ed praising the role of drug company sales representatives. The physician listed as the author has now revealed that he did...
