National Initiative Launched to Get People Out of Prisons and Into Treatment
The American Psychiatric Foundation has announced the launch of a pharmaceutical company-funded national initiative to move people from jails into psychiatric care.
Drug Company Suing FDA Over Right to Discuss Off-label Uses
A manufacturer of a prescription omega-3 fatty acid derivative wants the right to tell physicians about benefits of its drug which the FDA has not approved.
Psychology’s ‘Reproducibility Project’ Efforts Reporting In
-Nature News reports on the first wave of findings in the "crowd-sourced" effort to reproduce 100 of the most important studies in psychology.
Average Mental Health “Clinician” Earns Over $200k
-The average salary for psychiatrists and other mental health professionals is $216,000 per year, according to the Medscape Physician Compensation Report.
Australians to Get More Info on Doctor-Pharma Relationships
Drug companies must start publicly releasing information about different types of payments to Australia's physicians.
Australian Medical Journal Editor Fired, Others Resign Over Independence Concerns
The editor of the Australian Medical Association's journal was fired after he voiced concerns about changes that he felt endangered the journal's independence.
FDA: Abilify Promotions Are Misleading Physicians and the Public
The US FDA has requested that Otsuka "immediately cease" distributing some of its educational materials for its top-selling antipsychotic Abilify.
The Test Result that Gets You Locked Up Indefinitely
-People who've been arrested for sexual offences can end up indefinitely incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital, depending on their answers to a ten-question form.
How American Psychological Association Helped Torture Program — Details, Interviews
The New York Times examined a new report showing evidence of correspondence, discussions and collaborations between senior officials involved in the American Psychological Association...
Neurobabble Proves to be Highly Persuasive
-Adding irrelevant information about neuroscience made psychological theories seem much more convincing to psychology students.
Can Bloggers Save Science?
-Mind the Brain's James Coyne talks about why so many news stories about health and psychology studies are so bad.
Psychiatrists Took Undisclosed Payments While Promoting Antipsychotic to Government
Two psychiatrists took money from a pharmaceutical company, and then did not disclose it when they lobbied state legislators about the company's drug.
“Global Pandemic” of Fake Medicines, Say Researchers
Teams of researchers from around the world, including from the US government, tested 17,000 drug samples and found that up to 41% failed to meet quality standards.
RCTs: Really Concerning Trends in Research and Marketing
An RCT is simply a research tool and, as a tool, it can be used in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, the idea of a hierarchy of evidence seems to be hypnotically seductive for many people and powerfully useful for the drug companies. In order to get a drug to market, regulators in the US such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and also in Europe, only require the drug companies to produce two RCTs with statistically significant positive results. Perhaps this very low standard has contributed to the fact that RCTs can be much more useful as marketing tools for drug companies than for discovering new and useful ways for people to live healthy and meaningful lives.
Like A Useless Drug Calling Psychotherapy Ineffective
-Does prominent Canadian child psychiatrist Stanley Kutcher have different standards for evidence depending on whether he's evaluating psychotherapy or psychotropics?
“What Can Patients Do In The Face Of Physician Conflict Of Interest?”
-Surgeon James Rickert discusses financial conflicts of interest which affect physician decisions, and how patients can protect themselves.
Lieberman Calls Whitaker “A Menace to Society”
On Canada's popular national CBC radio program The Sunday Edition, psychiatrist Jeffrey Lieberman today described Robert Whitaker as "a menace to society."
America Becoming Divided Nation of Have-more and Have-less Mental Health Care?
A report and national map showed which US states have been implementing new Medicaid provisions that buttress mental health care access, and which states haven't.
“Is Science Really Better than Journalism at Self-correction?”
-A co-founder of Retraction Watch suggests editors of scientific and medical journals could learn some things from Rolling Stone about correcting errors.
“The New York Times and the ADHD Epidemic”
-MIA Bloggers Jonathan Leo and Jeffrey Lacasse review the New York Times' history of reporting on ADHD and the ensuing epidemic of ADHD.
University of Minnesota Leadership “Can’t Regain Trust”
The University of Minnesota's psychiatry department continues its scandal-plagued run at making national news...
Psychiatrists Still Promoting Low-Serotonin Theory of Depression
-A psychiatrist asserts that psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies never promoted the idea that serotonin deficiencies could cause depression, and suggests that no one at Mad in America has evidence that they did.
“Is Science Broken?” — Report from the Debate
-A recent debate involving Neuroskeptic and other panelists with backgrounds in neuroscience and psychology asked if science's growing problems can be fixed.
Are FDA Scientists Being Muzzled?
-A recent report from the Union of Concerned Scientists graded the level of employee freedom of speech at 17 US federal agencies.
Pharma Direct-to-consumer Ad Spending in US Jumps to $4.53 Billion
-The pharmaceutical industry spent $4.53 billion on direct-to-consumer advertising in the US in 2014, up 18% from $3.83 billion in 2013.
