MIWatch.org calls for real disclosure reform
Filed under: Conflicts of interest, Pharmaceuticals, Studies
Phyllis Vine at MIWatch.org, a site that follows news about mental illness, asks whether drug company disclosures about payments made to doctors go far enough and whether anyone actually pays attention to such disclosures.
Vine raises the question of doctors taking part in “educational settings, including grand rounds, courses at professional conferences, or continuing education programs that pharma spends billions of dollars underwriting.”
She addresses the disproportionate number of psychiatrists who represent pharmaceutical companies and dominate the upper bracket of paid speakers. Vine also notes that, while many schools have drafted or are drafting policies about faculty-industry relations, enforcement of those policies is questionable.
Read the whole post on MIWatch.org.
Charter class enters medical school - for free
CNBC reports on the charter class of the University of Central Florida’s medical school and its unique model that allows students to attend tuition free.
Dr. Deborah German, dean of the medical school, says it admitted 41 students in the school’s first class and donors have pledged enough money to cover each student’s tuition and living expenses for all four years.
The report says that most medical students have racked up more than $150,000 of debt by the time they graduate. The report includes discussion about whether coming out of med school debt-free might encourage some to go into primary care rather than more lucrative specialties, such as plastic surgery.
German says that when medical students enter school, most of them do so with dreams and a sense of altruism but that by the end of medical school, they are starting families and the reality of debt sets in, perhaps pushing them away from going into primary care.
The donors, according to German, include hospitals, banks, law firms, women’s groups and all kinds of businesses. The money comes without strings; the students are not committed to go into a particular specialty or practice in a certain location.
Ky. county to warn coaches about air pollution
In a story that shows how health stories can span several beats, James Bruggers, writing for the Louisville Courier-Journal’s kentuckianagreen.com, reports that the Jefferson County School District (which includes Louisville) will now share air pollution warnings with district coaches, who may then use that information to alter practice schedules.
The decision comes as a statewide sports safety work group created by the Kentucky General Assembly is scheduled to take up questions about air quality and outdoor practice at a meeting Thursday in Lexington. The Kentucky High School Athletic Association also is weighing possible recommendations on air quality and sports practices to its 279 members.
Bruggers found that, right now, such advisory practices (and more severe restrictions) are not widespread nationwide. “Bruce Howard, spokesman for the National Federation of High School Associations, said he has not heard of any schools or school districts anywhere in the nation with formal policies curbing practice during air quality warnings,” Bruggers wrote.
Seven Texas schools seek tier-one status
Holly K. Hacker of The Dallas Morning News has a story about Texas universities seeking to be “tier-one” institutions. As Hacker explains, “tier-one” universities are “where researchers make the next big breakthroughs in science or engineering and where top scholars teach the next generation of leaders and problem-solvers.”
Tier-one universities help the economy, attract students and researchers from out of state and encourage students to stay in state for their education.
They also receive “hundreds of millions of dollars in research grants from groups like the National Institutes of Health.”
Hacker is having a live chat at 11:30 central time today (Monday).
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Health Journalism 2010, AHCJ's annual conference, features a world-class program with story ideas, sources, stronger reporting skills, chances to meet newsmakers and network with other journalists.
- Health and education: Covering these intersecting beats
- Reporting on the business of health care
- Health reporting resources for journalists on state and local government beats
- Shortened Lives: How location, lifestyle affect health
- Covering a complex story for the long haul
- Aging in the 21st Century: Presentations and tip sheets
- AHCJ calls for better information from Joint Commission Web site
