Business Week magazine has an interesting article regarding conflicts of interest among physicians, in particular cardiologists and those who publish clinical data regarding medicines or devices. I’ve alluded to such conflicts in previous posts, but it clearly is gaining national attention, particular in the fields of cardiology and orthopedics. The issue in cardiology is that many studies regarding stents are sponsored by stent-producing companies. Additionally, many cardiologists have a vested interest in the stent industry via board seats, stock, or consulting compensation in stent companies. The issue in orthopedics is that the federal government is investigating whether device companies have been compensating surgeons for device or implant use, a form of “kickbacks”. Read more →

Welcome to the sixth edition of Drugs and Pharmacology — a monthly blog carnival that aims to review posts “related to drugs — medicinal, recreational, interactional, personal, professional, or any other aspects.”

Please remember to submit your blog entries using the online submission form. We will do our best to review and include your entry! Enjoy your readings… Read more →

There is this booming industry in medicine that more and more people are becoming aware of. It’s called Medical Tourism. It doesn’t mean that you go around the world touring medical sites. It’s actually the concept of people traveling to different countries to have medical procedures done. Perhaps they are seeking a special physician that can do a procedure. Perhaps they are seeking a new procedure that is not yet approved in the U.S. Perhaps the procedure they want is less expensive elsewhere. Sometimes it is just that patients want a vacation in combination with their medical procedure so they will go to a resort island to have the procedure done and get their rehabilitation in a relaxing environment. Read more →

Well, if you think that the anti-tobacco lobby has won the war, think again. Do the Wall Street charts show a downtrend – I don’t think so. It’s true that conventional advertising for cigarettes through magazines and billboards is down at its all time low, but recent statistics from the Federal Trade Commission indicate that marketing expenditure by the tobacco industry rose by 22% between 2002-2003, from $12 billion to $15 billion. Marketing strategy had just shifted to more niche-oriented methods like direct mail, event promotions and coupon discounts. Read more →