The raging COVID-19 pandemic has shaken our trust in science. This volume reviews the evolution of misconduct and fraud in science, the many steps taken to alleviate the problem, and the likelihood that it will continue, given our profit-driven healthcare system. Contents are set in a clinical context, wherein misconduct and fraud affect rational prescribing, a process that depends on balancing the risk–benefit ratio of treatments, whether pharmacologic or psychotherapeutic. The clinical consequences can be significant, in that the efficacy of treatments can be vastly overplayed, adverse effects minimized, and costs to the healthcare system increased if corrective measures are not taken.
Key Features
• Discusses the various aspects of cheating in publications: spin, protocol changes; failure to publish negative studies, including current data on the publishing industry and its issues, like the menace of predatory journals, poor peer review, coupled with lack of early education in ethics, and its significant impact on rational prescribing.
• Assesses the impact of misconduct and fraud on clinicians and healthcare professionals as they attempt to balance the risk–benefit ratio which is supported by multiple contemporary studies.
• Presents shocking data on bribes to physicians, journal editors and other key opinion leaders, exposing the ultimate root of the problem which lies in the economics of the healthcare system, badly in need of repair.
Author(s): Charles E. Dean
Publisher: CRC Press
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 117
City: Boca Raton
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Author
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: Historical Roots and Recurrence
Chapter 1: Regulations, the Growth of Pharma, and Diagnostic Expansion, 1951–2013: A Wealth Trifecta
Introduction
References
Chapter 2: Industry Payments to Physicians: Research
and Education or Bribery?
Introduction
References
Chapter 3: Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Origins, Extent, and Consequences
Introduction
DTCA: A Success Story for Industry
DTCA and Consumer Demand
DTCA and Patient-Physician Relationships
Truth in Advertising: Should Consumers (Patients) Trust the Ads?
The FDA and DTCA
Patient Autonomy, the Internet, Telemedicine, and the Role of the Clinic
Global Expansion for DTCA?
The Courts and DTCA
References
Chapter 4: Publication and Citation Bias, Spin, and Sponsorship: Tilting the Risk–Benefit Ratio
Introduction
Medical Research and Publication Bias
Drug Trials: Background, Bias, and Negative Trials
Depression, Antidepressants, and Psychotherapy
References
Chapter 5: Fraudulent Authorship: Ghosts, Guests, and Honorary Authors
Introduction
Ghost and Honorary Authors
References
Chapter 6: Meta-Analyses and Systematic Reviews: Biases and Short-Cuts to Knowledge
Introduction
General Problems with the Meta-Analytic Approach
Specific Issues
Conclusions
References
Chapter 7: Replication and Reproducibility of Research Results: A Crisis?
Introduction
References
Chapter 8: Distorted Outcomes and Retractions: Prevalence and Types
Introduction
Summary
References
Chapter 9: Journalology, Predatory Journals, Peer Review, Pre-Prints, and Guidelines
Introduction
References
Chapter 10: Can Misconduct and Fraud Be Fixed?
Introduction
The Early 1980s: How Did Science Respond?
Training and Oversight: Helpful?
Has the FDA Been Helpful in Addressing Misconduct?
Fraud and Misconduct in Science: Are There Any Realistic Solutions?
Conclusions
References
Chapter 11: An Entrepreneurial Health Care System: Risks and Benefits to Rational Prescribing
Introduction
Roots of Change
Academic Centers and Economic Advantages from Collaboration?
Conclusions
References
Index
