Science is supposed to be objective. Unbiased. Certainly if the person performing an experiment has a monetary stake towards having the outcome of an experiment go a certain way, that taints everything. And yet our society seems to believe that Medicine is scientific when in fact it is corrupt to the very core.
The focus of the vast majority of the Medical field revolves around drugs. Dr. Robert O. Becker provided a first hand perspective as to how and why this occurred. It all dates back to the helplessness society felt when someone got pneumonia and the great relief penicillin brought to society. But like with most things that start with the best of intentions, money and power has long since taken over.
Pharmaceutical companies control medicine today. I have once close friend who is a Doctor. I have enjoyed many events gratis thanks to being invited by salespeople of the Pharmaceutical companies. They cater to Doctors because they want to get the Doctors to prescribe their drugs. Not because it's scientific. Not because it's best for the Doctor's patients, but because it makes money for the Drug Company who pays the salary of the salesperson.
I also have a friend who is a researcher. For a very big drug company. She has done lots of research on lots of studies. Very well respected in her field. So I said, wow, you must have been published hundreds of times. She said no. Huh?
Why, I asked. It turns out that the pharmaceutical companies don't like to list all the names of the scientists who worked on a study because then when it shows up in the periodicals the Doctor's read, it doesn't look "seemly". Despite knowing the answer, I asked why? She said, well let's take Viagra as an example. If you have a hundred scientists working on Viagra trials and they all work for Merck, and all their names and the name "Merck" is all over the study it doesn't carry the same weight as if it was an independent study, does it? She's right, no it doesn't. But the fact remains that pharmaceutical companies do studies on drugs they have a vested interest in and these studies have a huge impact on what drugs become popular as does the sales efforts of the pharmaceutical companies. Not to mention the TV ads for Ambien and Claritin etc...
And she told me some other details about how they find the volunteers to do the studies. Just frightening. She told me herself that she doesn't trust any study she reads anymore...and this is her job!!
Shameful, isn't it?
Posted by Heretic at September 27, 2002 06:57 PM | TrackBack