Ghostwritten textbook just ‘tip of the iceberg’
Filed under: Conflicts of interest, Health journalism, Pharmaceuticals
The New York Times‘ Duff Wilson has uncovered what he calls the first ghostwritten book. Published in 1999 under the names of two prominent psychiatrists, “Recognition and Treatment of Psychiatric Disorders: A Psychopharmacology Handbook for Primary Care” coyly mentioned that it was funded by an unrestricted educational grant from the company that is now GlaxoSmithKline.
What it doesn’t mention is that GSK apparently also paid ghostwriters to create the outline and text of the book, then signed off on the final version. Up to this point, ghostwriting had been restricted to journal articles.
A Washington advocacy group called the Project for Government Oversight released documents detailing the relationship on Monday, but Wilson also explains how the Times found their copies:
The documents were separately obtained by The New York Times from the Los Angeles law firm of Baum Hedlund, which received them as part of discovery in lawsuits against the drug company, now known as GlaxoSmithKline, involving Paxil. Leemon B. McHenry, a bioethicist with California State University, Northridge, who consults for the law firm, said many similar documents remain sealed. “This is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
Wilson writes that the book was co-published by American Psychiatric Publishing and the American Medical Association. He does not, however, delve deeply into its content or address how it discusses Glaxo’s products.
Lieberman, Ornstein on health as a top 5 beat
Earlier this month, Online Journalism Review’s Robert Niles stirred things up with his lively post on the five most important beats for a local newspaper or website. As you might have heard, health didn’t make the cut (though the related “food” beat is at the top of the list).
Under pressure from commenters and tweeters, Niles conceded that health would be a contender for any “top 6″ list. He elaborated on his health take in the comments, essentially arguing that local health coverage would fall under “Top 5″ categories like labor, business and food.
Angilee Shah, who writes the Career GPS feature over at Reporting on Health, took Niles’ bait and defended health journalism with the help of AHCJ President Charles Ornstein and AHCJ Immediate Past President Trudy Lieberman.
Ornstein’s take:
Even if you factor in the health stories that can be written by the wires, think of all the local health institutions that consumers rely on—doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, assisted living centers, other health professionals. Do you really expect the reporter who covers the local bank or the local shopping scene to parachute in and cover these institutions well? A reporter covering health understands the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, assisted living and nursing homes, etc. To ask a local government reporter or education reporter to thoroughly cover food deserts in their community or childhood obesity in their schools is too big of a stretch.
And, Shah describes Lieberman’s take:
Lieberman takes an equally adamant stance. “I argue strenuously that this should be a beat, and it should be a dedicated beat with a well-trained reporter,” she said in a phone conversation. Dwindling local health coverage has increased the gap between Washington policy makers and the communities their policies affect. Local journalists should be explaining the effects of complicated health care laws on specific communities. She points to “bright spots” in local health news, such as a Las Vegas Sun series about hospital safety in Nevada.
“I think reporters need to know what’s allowed and how that should translate into what people are seeing, and whether or not they’re being deceived at a local level,” Lieberman said. “It’s a Washington story but it’s not a Washington story. It’s a local story.”
Your take?
There are plenty of small-town reporters in AHCJ, many of whom have more than just health care on their plates. What do you folks think? How many reporters does a newspaper or website need to have before it can dedicate one of them to health care journalism?
Flawed approval process led to flawed jaw implants
Filed under: Conflicts of interest, Hot Health Headline
In the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reporter John Fauber proves that it’s possible to do cutting-edge reporting on conflicts of interest and tie those conflicts to clinical trials of devices that hit the market a few decades ago.
His targets? Jaw joint devices that were initially grandfathered in, and for which newer treatments were approved in the late ’90s and early 2000’s. These trials, Fauber found, were too small, too conflicted and too inconclusive to provide real data, yet the devices were approved anyway. Now, he has found, patients are paying the price.
I’ll just include the first sentence here, as I’m confident that nobody will be able to resist reading the rest of Fauber’s story.
Before implanting a third artificial jaw joint in Heidi Clark’s head, doctors had to remove particles of plastic from the second failed joint that had broken apart and become embedded in muscle.
CEO uses cookie to avoid speaking to reporters
This week’s equivalent of “Don’t touch my junk” just might be “I’m eating my cookie.”
That was the response given by Dr. Stephen Duckett, the then-CEO of Alberta Health Services, to reporters who were asking him about problems with Canada’s health care system.
Duckett was leaving a meeting on Nov. 19 about fixing the health care system when reporters asked what he thought about criticism of Alberta Health Services.
When asked why he won’t stop and talk, he exclaims, “I’m still eating my cookie!”
The reporters offered to wait until he finished his cookie so he could comment but he instead responded with apparent irritation that “the media are not prepared to go to the media scrum,” a scheduled event that was scheduled to take place about 30 minutes after this confrontation.
Duckett has since been fired and three board members have quit in the wake of his dismissal.
Boomers line up for Medicare Part D plans
In a Morning Edition piece, NPR’s Kelley Weiss manages to hit all the highlights of this year’s Medicare Part D open enrollment period. With millions of Baby Boomers hitting the system and reform provisions shaking up Part D and Medicare Advantage, it’s one of the livelier open enrollments in recent years. Also, one of the most confusing. If you prefer text, see the Kaiser Health News roundup of open enrollment coverage, which emphasizes previews and explainers.
Open enrollment, or the period during with the over-65 set can make changes to their Medicare plans, began Nov. 15 and ends Dec. 31. As you’ll learn from Weiss, the period has pushed seniors and caregivers into a sudden six-week crash course in federal insurance policy.
Agent Orange’s oft-overlooked American victims
We’ve mentioned reports on the health effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam and upon returning American soldiers. But there is another key group of victims, as K. Oanh Ha reports in The California Report. Vietnamese who fought alongside Americans during the war, then emigrated to the United States, were exposed to the same toxins as the Americans and North Vietnamese, yet have no available benefit system.
Vets who have one of 15 diseases can qualify for disability compensation and medical care from the Veterans Administration. That’s not the case for South Vietnamese soldiers, said Ed Martini, a history professor at Western Michigan University, who’s writing a book about the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam.
“If you’re a South Vietnamese soldier, you’re a man without a country,” Martini said. “There’s no benefits system available to you. You can’t get the Vietnamese benefits, and you can’t get the American benefits.”
Ha ends his piece with a small ray of hope for these forgotten allies. At least one politician is taking notice.
Now, the plight of former South Vietnamese soldiers is attracting attention in Congress. Congressman Mike Honda, whose district includes San Jose, says he’s willing to meet with former South Vietnamese soldiers and their families to consider legislation that would extend them benefits.
“Nothing’s too good for our veterans,” Honda said. “That same attitude should be provided to the all the veterans we’ve created and those who have fought with us.”
Welcome to the newest members of AHCJ
These journalists have joined AHCJ recently:
- Nancy Albritton, enterprise editor/east desk, The Associated Press, Quakertown, Pa.
- Amber Angelle, independent journalist, Brooklyn, N.Y. (@amberangelle)
- Sarah Anthony, independent journalist, Frontline, Los Angeles
- Kelley Atherton, reporter, The Daily Triplicate, Crescent City, Calif.
- Allison Baker, associate nutrition editor, Self, New York, N.Y.
- Nicole Brambila, reporter, The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, Calif.
- Carrie Buchanan, assistant professor, John Carroll University, University Hills, Ohio
- Phil Cauthon, reporter/editor, Kansas Health Institute, Topeka, Kan. (@philcauthon)
- Sarah Clune, health producer, PBS NewsHour, Arlington, Va.
- Victoria Costello, independent journalist, San Francisco (@vicostello)
- Kevin Dawkins, executive producer, Dawkins Productions, Hastings on Hudson, N.Y.
- Elizabeth DeVita-Raeburn, independent journalist, New York, N.Y.
- Sarah Dorsey, computer-assisted reporter, Sunlight Foundation, Washington, D.C. (@sarahatsunlight)
- Angeline Doyne, independent journalist, St. Augustine, Fla.
- William “Lee” Dubois, author/educator, Las Vegas, N.M.
- Christina Elston, managing editor, L.A. Parent, Burbank, Calif. (@Health_E)
- Adam Feuerstein, senior columnist, The Street, Winchester, Mass. (@adamfeuerstein)
- Nedra Floyd-Pautler, retired, University of Washington, Seattle
- Robert Goldberg, vice president, Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, New York, N.Y. (@goldbergrm)
- R. Jan Gurley, physican/blogger, SFGate.com, Lafayette, Calif.
- Tara Haelle, graduate student, University of Texas, Austin, Texas (@tarasue)
- Raymond Hainer, reporter, Health.com/Time Inc., New York, N.Y. (@rayhainer)
- Erin Hobday, health director, Redbook, New York, N.Y.
- Brittany Johnson, student, Howard University, Washington, D.C.
- Roseann Keegan, community editor, Tahoe Daily Tribune, Reno, Nev. (@RoseannKeegan)
- Carol Kelly, graduate student, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.
- Robert Langreth, senior editor, Forbes, Maplewood, N.J. (@sciencecritic)
- Jennifer Larson, independent journalist, Nashville, Tenn. (@JenniferLarson)
- Shelley Levitt, independent journalist, Los Angeles
- Jori Lewis, independent journalist, Brooklyn, N.Y. (@jorilewis)
- Robin Lloyd, news editor, online, Scientific American, Bronx, N.Y. (@robinlloyd99)
- Sammy Mack, multimedia reporter, HealthyState.org, Miami
- Kevin McCarthy, reporter, Consumer Reports, Yonkers, N.Y.
- Anne McGregor, editor, InHealthNW Magazine, Spokane, Wash.
- Hillary Meeks, reporter, Visalia Times-Delta, Visalia, Calif.
- Stanton Miller, student, University of North Carolina, Lafayette Hill, Pa.
- Mary Miller, independent journalism, Woodinville, Wash.
- Seth Mnookin, contributing editor, Vanity Fair, Brooklyn, N.Y. (@sethmnookin)
- Elizabeth Moore, independent journalist, Princeton, N.J.
- Beatrice Motamedi, independent journalist, The Oakland Tribune, Oakland, Calif.
- Kristin Muckerheide, student journalist, Bradley University, Naperville, Ill.
- Melissa Murfin, assistant professor/independent journalist, Sarasota, Fla. (@pharmdpa)
- Sarah Okeson, reporter, Springfield News-Leader, Springfield, Mo.
- Catherine Pearson, student, Columbia School of Journalism, New York, N.Y. (@cdpearson)
- Eva Ritvo, independent journalist, Miami Beach, Fla.
- Claudia Roth, student, DeLand, Fla.
- Tena Rubio, independent producer/host, Lafayette, Calif.
- Danilo Ruggeri, editor, Ariete Salute, Milan, Italy
- Lara Salahi, reporter, ABC News, Norwood, Mass. (@LaraSalaABCNews)
- Gloria Sancho, student, Stratford, Conn.
- Liz Seegert, independent journalist, Little Neck, N.Y. (@lseegert)
- Courtenay Smith, independent journalist, New York, N.Y.
- Karen Stassi, managing editor, Healthcare Journal of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, La.
- Melissa Sweet, independent health journalist/author, Marulan, New South Wales, Australia (@croakeyblog)
- Katherine Tweed, independent journalist, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Cindy Uken, health care reporter, Billings Gazette, Billings, Mont.
- Ingrid Utech, independent journalist, Sebring, Fla.
- Curt Werner, independent journalist, Sarasota, Fla.
- Tracy Wood, senior writer, voiceofoc.com, Santa Ana, Calif. (@Tracy111)
If you haven’t joined yet, see what member benefits you’re missing out on: Access to more than 50 journals and databases, special data sets, tip sheets and articles from your colleagues on how they’ve reported stories, conferences, workshops, online training, reporting guides and more. Join AHCJ today to get a wealth of support and tools to help you.
Multimedia piece explores Philly’s medical history
Filed under: Health journalism, Hot Health Headline
“Now, why Philly?”
That’s how the first stop begins on the interactive map for Marketplace’s “Philadelphia: The Birthplace of Healthcare” but it also could be a question about AHCJ’s 2011 conference.
The answers are remarkably similar.
Philadelphia has played a large role in the development of health care in this country. Some of the notable events, from the Marketplace piece:
- Benjamin Franklin helped launch the pharmaceutical industry there.
- Philly resident Philip Physick, inventor of dozens of surgical instruments, also invented an economic instrument that enabled surgeons to get paid.
- An idealistic eye doctor there at the turn of the century helped launch what’s now a multi-billion dollar screening industry.
Marketplace’s project, which includes an interactive map timeline that leads you to audio and video pieces, provides an interesting tale of health care in that city. Hear about the surgical amphitheatre where people paid to watch surgery and how the first HMO came about. Find out how an eye doctor became responsible for the screening trend.
Most surprising is the use of puppets, a canoe and music to tell the stories.
Officials, journalists agree information key in public health crisis
When the H1N1 pandemic first hit in the fall or 2009, every sickness and every death was of great interest to the public. Anxiety ran high; people wanted to know how this new illness was affecting their communities. In some places, public health officials released considerable information about the victims. In others, however, they revealed little or nothing.
That may change soon, thanks to a “cooperative effort between AHCJ’s Right to Know Committee and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, aimed at establishing flexible guidelines on how much information to reveal about victims in a public health crisis.
At AHCJ’s request, ASTHO hosted a meeting on Oct. 8 at which reporters and health officials hashed out their concerns and reached common ground. The daylong meeting at ASTHO headquarters outside of Washington, D.C., was attended by health officials from the D.C. area as well from Alabama, Michigan, Rhode Island and two federal agencies. A state health official also participated by speaker phone from Tennessee. AHCJ was represented by journalists Charles Ornstein, Rose Hoban and Felice Freyer.
Health officials readily accepted the premise that openness is essential to maintain public trust, said Freyer, who chairs the Right to Know Committee. But they explained their worries about what the media might do (and have done) with the information released, such as scouring obituaries to deduce who died and distressing families by showing up at funerals. AHCJ agreed to advise its members that it is unethical to violate victims’ privacy without permission. Read more …
New EHR error-reporting system to keep data confidential
Filed under: Government, Health care reform, Health data, Health journalism
EHRevent.org, a service that will allow health workers to report and track errors associated with electronic health records, has launched with broad support and no small amount of fanfare. In cooperation with the federal government, the new system will be run by the iHealth Alliance and the PDR network. The iHealth Alliance already runs the Health Care Notification Network, while the PDR Network, perhaps best known for their Physicians Desk Reference, already distributes FDA warnings and drug labeling information.
It shows promise, of course, but that promise comes with one hefty caveat for health journalists: The resulting data will be kept under wraps. Wall Street Journal health blogger Katherine Hobson has the details:
The aggregated data will be available to medical societies, liability carriers and agencies such as the FDA, but will remain confidential — and won’t be subject to legal discovery. (The mechanism for this type of information sharing is the patient safety organization, federally sanctioned groups formed by providers, nonprofit groups and other interested parties to analyze data about medical errors. Groups can get aggregated data if they agree to keep it out of the public domain.)
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Awards for Excellence in Health Care JournalismDeadline: Feb. 3
- How I did it: Falsified charts in nursing homes linked to patient care
- Access Denied: Looking at a lack of health care availability
- Transparency & medical errors: Public reporting of patient harm is a potent force
- Focus on freelancing: Tips for buying liability insurance
- Why do some patients get stuck in hospitals for weeks, months?
- Investigate health professionals and the boards that regulate them
- Presidents of AHCJ, SPJ call for more openness from Obama administration
