I am still catching up on my reading after the holiday weekend, but one article garnering a great deal of attention is The New York Times article about the relationship between doctors and pharmaceutical companies in "Dr. Drug Rep" http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/magazine/25memoir-t.html?ex=1353560400&en=5681ba7698e69709&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink.
Dr. Daniel Carlat, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, found himself intoxicated by the quick cash he was making as a paid speaker for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. At first, he felt OK about the talks he was giving and even justified the talks as important education for primary care doctors. But as more research emerged, Carlat was less enthusiastic in his talks. And after a year and a talk in which he was more candid about potential side effects, Carlat gave up the gig. He now publishes The Carlat Psychiatry Report, "a medical-education newsletter for psychiatrists that is not financed by the pharmaceutical industry and that tries to critically assess drug research and marketing claims."
Money is a powerful incentive and it has the potential power to cloud a researcher's judgment. The story is an important reminder to place safeguards on research and research incentives.
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