Peck reports another questionable PR pitch
In the wake of the discussion over whether public relations folks should offer money to journalists to serve on focus groups for pharmaceutical companies, MedPage Today Executive Editor Peggy Peck...
View ArticleMedtronic attracts attention from Baucus, Grassley
Readers of Covering Health are likely familiar with medical device manufacturer Medtronic and John Fauber’s coverage of conflicts of interest surrounding the company’s Infuse product. It seems that...
View ArticlePLoS Medicine article advocates using legal system to stem ghostwriting
An essay published by PLoS Medicine makes the case that the “guest” authors of ghostwritten articles – typically academic researchers who provide little or no input – in medical journals should be held...
View ArticleU. Iowa hospitals share patient data with fundraising organization
The Des Moines Register‘s Clark Kauffman opens his investigative report with a simple observation: “University of Iowa Hospitals is giving patient names and specific patient-treatment information to a...
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Reporters fall prey to back pain study’s shady PR push
Photo by planetc1 If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed several 140-character conniptions I had last week over coverage of a Danish study that used antibiotics to treat low back pain. I...
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When disease charities partner with drug companies, where does that leave...
A few weeks ago, I reached out to a disease charity for comment on a story I was working on. Disease charities are nonprofits like the American Heart Association, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, etc.,...
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Independent reviews find less benefit, more harm than first reported for bone...
Efforts to correct biased and dangerous medical studies are making more headlines. Shortly after I posted about a new idea to correct missing and misreported research, I got an email from AHCJ member...
View ArticleJournalists taken aback by AP’s tweets about pharmaceutical company
Journalists on Twitter were surprised, even dismayed, on Tuesday when tweets from The Associated Press prompted followers to “Visit AstraZeneca’s YouTube channel.” Sponsored Tweet: 15M+ Americans...
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Reporter looks at why, how clinic banned drug reps and their samples
Markian Hawryluk Six years ago, a clinic in Oregon made the decision to ban representatives from the pharmaceutical companies. The doctors and staff say goodbye to free samples of expensive drugs,...
View ArticleResearchers ‘owe’ the public information about financial ties #ahcj14
When writing about medical studies, reporters should always ask researchers about any financial relationships with drug companies or device manufacturers. That was one of the main lessons from a panel...
View ArticlePosts about Ebola, oral health, ethics and data among year’s top reads
As we close out 2014, take a look back at the most popular Covering Health posts of the year: Comparing U.S., Canadian health care systems Blaming moms: How miscommunication on epigenetics is a threat...
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What can reporters learn from the chocolate diet study hoax?
Photo: BlueRidgeKitties via Flickr You’ve been fooled. You thought eating chocolate while dieting could help you shed the pounds faster because a study supposedly said so, and outlets all over the...
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Scientific journals squabble over conflict-of-interest policies
A game of inside baseball is being played between two of the most venerated medical journals, and journalists may want to be sure they have a seat near the dugout. The game centers on one of the most...
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Conflict-of-interest concerns run both ways
GraphicStock Last month, we wrote about the back-and-forth between the New England Journal of Medicine and BMJ regarding conflict of interest policies for researchers who write commentaries or review...
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Freelancers face unique conflict-of-interest dilemmas
Photo: Yan Arief Purwanto via Flickr Previously, Covering Health has addressed two kinds of potential conflicts of interest that health journalists should watch out for: those of journal article...
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Member’s JAMA piece looks at ethical considerations of physician-journalists
Rita Rubin AHCJ member Rita Rubin explores the tricky territory of working as a doctor and a journalist in a “Medical News & Perspectives” piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association....
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ADA cautions that charity clinics should take care with ethical issues
Photo: Chicago Dental Society via Flickr Organizers of free megaclinics at city stadiums and rural fairgrounds frequently describe their efforts as “Band-Aid” solutions to a much deeper problem with...
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Check out your sources for conflicts of interest
GraphicStock It doesn’t take long for many journalists to end up on a slew of PR and marketing lists. Pitch emails roll in 24/7 to promote a product, announce a new study, suggest a story idea or offer...
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Medical students track former patients via EHRs, but is that ethical?
Photo: rosefirerising via Flickr Medical students are accessing patient electronic health records after those patients are no longer in their care, raising some interesting ethical, educational and...
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Wisconsin reporter explored the science of organ transplants
Photo: U.S. Pacific Fleet via Flickr News features on organ transplants often focus on a specific success story. But there’s far more under the surface when it comes to the issue of organ donation and...
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