The Inaugural “Shkreli Awards!”
This piece for the Lown Institute lists 10 of the most egregious examples of profit-mongering and lack of empathy in healthcare in 2017. These examples include...
Podcast: The Top 10 Quotes of 2017
In this podcast for HealthNewsReview.org, Michael Joyce shares what he considers the 10 most compelling quotes from last year's podcast episodes. The quotes include a wide variety...
Researchers Push for Transparency of Mental Health Outcome Data
A new analysis of UK mental health data suggests the way organizations deliver mental health services can alter patient outcomes.
Researchers Call for Structural Competency in Psychiatry
Structural competency in psychiatry emphasizes the social factors shaping patient presentations and encourages physician advocacy.
Antidepressants During Pregnancy Increase Risk of Psychiatric Diagnosis in Children
New research, based on data from almost a million children in Denmark, suggests that children of mothers who use antidepressants during pregnancy are more likely to be diagnosed with autism and psychiatric disorders.
New Research on Prenatal SSRI Exposure and Autism
Does maternal SSRI exposure increase the chances that a child will develop characteristics associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?
Hospitals Need to Earn Their Tax-Exempt Status
From STAT: Many of the country's most profitable and prominent hospitals enjoy tax-exempt status even though they often fail to meet the health needs of...
53% of Docs Still Not Transitioning to Value-Based Care
From Modern Healthcare: There has been a recent uptick in the number of doctors transitioning to value-based care, but 53 percent of physicians still have not...
Study Examines the Difficulty of Withdrawing from Antidepressant Drugs
Correcting unnecessary long-term antidepressant use is difficult and met with apprehension by providers and service-users.
There’s No Such Thing As “Sound Science”
In this piece for FiveThirtyEight, Christie Aschwanden explains how various industries have used the language of the "open science" reform movement, which advocates for more transparency in scientific...
Licensed to Bill: How Doctors Profit From Injury Assessments
From The Globe and Mail: Doctors are making millions of dollars a year by providing independent medical evaluations of accident victims for the auto-insurance industry....
Scientists Clarify Risks of Augmenting with Antipsychotic Medications for Depression
The researchers found that while antipsychotic drugs may be slightly more effective than alternative antidepressants, they come with a much higher side effect burden.
Is the FDA Withholding Data to Protect a Drug Manufacturer?
From Scientific American: The FDA seems determined to prevent the public from accessing valuable data about the safety, efficacy, and potential adverse effects of the...
Are Nurses the New Sales Reps? Doctors Should be Aware
From STAT: According to a recently unsealed lawsuit, Eli Lilly has illegally hired nurses to promote its diabetes treatments to physicians and patients for the...
The Trump Administration Isn’t Taking on Health Care Waste
From U.S. News: The Trump administration is not taking any actions to address the epidemic of waste, i.e. unnecessary tests and treatments, in the medical...
The Epidemic of “Junk Science”
From The Lown Institute: Every year, we spend $240 billion to fund biomedical research. According to a science reporter and author Richard Harris, as much as half...
Study Challenges Assumption that Schizophrenia Impairs Cognitive Ability
Secondary factors may impair performance on cognitive tasks, making it difficult for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia to perform to the best of their ability.
Screen Time Linked to Increased Depressive Symptoms Among Teens
New study examines how increased screen time and social media may be contributing to depressive symptoms and suicide risk in teens
Children Diagnosed with ADHD Younger are More Likely to get Multiple Medications
New research demonstrates that children diagnosed with ADHD at younger ages are more likely than those diagnosed later to receive multiple medications within five years of their diagnosis.
Science is Broken
In this piece for Aeon, Siddhartha Roy and Marc A. Edwards explore how increasingly perverse incentives and the academic business model are affecting scientific practices and...
Scientists Call for Increased Transparency in Research
Scientists at the Yale Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency (CRIT) published a new policy paper this month criticizing the current state of biomedical research and calling for improved transparency in research methods.
Vermont Probes Whether Drug Makers Violated its Gift Ban
From STAT: The Vermont attorney general is currently investigating whether drug and medical device companies may have violated state law by giving gifts or payments to health...
Former Eli Lilly Executive is Trump’s Choice for Health Secretary
From The New York Times: President Trump has nominated Alex M. Azar II, a former president of the American division of Eli Lilly, to be...
Outcome Reporting Bias in Antipsychotic Medication Trials
A new study in the journal Translational Psychiatry, an influential journal in biological psychiatry published by Nature, challenges the state of the research on antipsychotic drugs.
Pharmaceutical Industry Gifts Linked to Costlier Prescribing Practices
New study finds that pharmaceutical industry gifts to medical providers in Washington D.C. are associated with higher cost, higher volume prescribing behavior.
