Is an Open Data Revolution Almost Here?
-Tom Jefferson updates on the "revolution" promised by European Medicines Agency policies on publicly releasing more detailed data from drug clinical trials.
Psychiatrists’ Fear of Death Linked to Negative Feelings Towards Certain Patients
-A survey of 120 psychiatrists found that the more psychiatrists fear death, the more negative emotions they have towards people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.
Are Eating Disorder Centers a “Rehab Racket”?
-She won a seminal court case requiring insurance companies to pay for stays in residential treatment centers for eating disorders, and now Jeanene Harlick has begun an investigative expose on those same centers' poor practices.
US House Committee Votes to Defund Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality
The primary agency responsible for investigating and reporting on the quality of health care delivery in the US is a step closer to being completely shut down.
Antidepressant-linked Suicide Data Doctored In Seminal Study
Several years after the information was first revealed, a published study has shown how an influential NIMH study doctored the real data about antidepressants and suicidal events in youth.
Limitations Of Observational Studies Often Not Mentioned
Mentions of studies' limitations are often buried deep in papers, and then mentions of their existence at all drop steadily thereafter in abstracts, press releases and news stories.
University of Minnesota Trying To Improve Human Research Protections
-MIA Blogger Carl Elliott discusses and links to a series of stories covering the latest developments in the wake of the University of Minnesota psychiatric research scandals.
We’re All Less Biased Than Most People
-Only one person out of 661 in a psychological study said that he/she is more biased than the average person.
“Electronic Health Data for Postmarket Surveillance: A Vision Not Realized”
-Thomas Moore of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices asks, "What has been learned about electronic health data as a primary data source for regulatory decisions regarding the harms of drugs?"
“On Human Experiments”
-The Conversation has run a seven-article series discussing the history, politics and philosophical underpinnings of ethically questionable medical research.
Transparency and Outcome Reporting Not Improving in Behavioral Health Studies
Randomized controlled trials published in four leading behavioral health journals show that new requirements for registering of trials does not seem to be improving trial design or transparency.
“I Fooled Millions Into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss. Here’s How.”
-John Bohannon describes how he conducted a poorly designed study of chocolate and weight loss, got it published in a journal, issued a press release, and watched as the story spread.
“Could Better Tests Have Predicted the Rare Circumstances of the Germanwings Crash? Probably Not”
-Medical professor Norman Paradis gives a primer on the poor reliability of even the best screening tests -- let alone psychological ones.
Former NEJM Editors Attack Journal’s “Flawed” and “Rambling” Conflict-of-interest Articles
-Three former editors of the New England Journal of Medicine criticize the NEJM for its recent publication of a series of articles downplaying conflicts of interest.
An Honor Code for Medical Trials is a Fragile Thing
-Carl Elliott reflects on the scandals at UMinn, and explains why he worries that medical and psychiatric research at other universities and institutions may be just as unethical.
How Much Do Average People Know About the Risks of Screening?
-Despite an "epidemic" of "expanding disease definitions that medicalize more people," most Australians have no idea that overdiagnosis is a problem.
More Responses to NEJM Conflict-of-interest Articles
-"For the most prominent journal of American medicine to offer so much precious real estate for arguments that are half-baked and tendentious is amazing."
“Why People Take Antipsychotics For Depression”
-Buzzfeed looks at the history -- and present -- of how antipsychotic drugs became a common treatment for depression, despite their apparent lack of effectiveness.
Lancet Editor Proclaims Half of All Scientific Studies are False
Collective Evolution discusses a recent commentary by the editor of The Lancet stating that "much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue."
Company Suing to Prevent Increased Drug Trial Transparency
A company that conducts clinical drug trials for pharmaceutical companies is taking legal action against the UK government over transparency requirements.
NEJM Hosts Online Poll on Conflicts of Interest in Medicine
-An NEJM "Reader Poll" shows nearly 80% of respondents trusting that scientific reviews can be responsibly written by people taking money from pharmaceutical companies, but not who work with patient-advocacy groups.
Towards a Better Understanding of Flawed Science
-Vox suggests it may be time for society to come to terms with how mistake prone and biased science is.
World Health Organization “Opens the Doors Wide to Corporate Influence”
-Is the World Health Organization moving towards developing tighter ties with corporations through its new "Framework of Engagement with non-State Actors"?
Critical Responses Mount As Influential Medical Journal Downplays Conflicts of Interest
-The New England Journal of Medicine generated controversy by suggesting that concerns about conflict of interest in medicine and psychiatry are overblown.
Experts Shocked to Learn US Centers for Disease Control Taking Drug Company Funding
The US government's Centers for Disease Control have been taking millions of dollars in drug company money.
