Health

The Right to Health and Information

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An interesting article is written by Trudo Lemmens and Candice Telfer titled “Access to Information and the Right to Health: The Human Rights Case for Clinical Trials Transparency,” which appeared in the 2011 issue of the American Journal of Law and Medicine (vol. 38, pages 63-112). In the article the authors argue that information about clinical trials should be recognized as a fundamental component of the right to health. The authors make a mention of two controversies in recent years. The first is of GlaxoSmithKline and its use of the antidepressant Paxil for treatment of depression in the pediatric population. In 2004, the Attorney General of New York prosecuted GSK for allegedly hiding negative data, selective publishing of positive data, and use of skewed publications to promote off-label prescriptions. The second case is the mention of Vioxx in which the … Read more

Defense Expenses and their role in Medical Malpractice Claims

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An interesting article titled “The Impact of Defense Expenses in Medical Malpractice Claims” written by Aaron E. Carroll, Parul Divya Parikh, and Jennifer L. Buddenbaum appears in the Spring 2012 issue of the The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics (vol. 40, issue 1, pages 135-142). The authors state “Multiple factors go into the determination of medical professional liability insurance premiums including return on investments, reinsurance costs, claims frequency, average amount paid out on malpractice claims, defense expenses, and administrative costs such as underwriting expense. These factors all interact with each other and, in general, evidence exists that each of these factors has played a role in the escalating cost of medical professional liability insurance.” The authors go on to describe tort reform efforts and state “These reform efforts include caps on damages, abolition of punitive damages, eliminating mandatory prejudgment interest, … Read more

Should There Be a Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising Ban

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An interesting article is written by Lia Mulligan titled “You Can’t Say That on Television: Constitutional Analysis of a Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising Ban,” which appeared in the 2011 issue of the American Journal of Law and Medicine (vol. 37, pages 444-467). In the article it is mentioned that the average american will watch around 16 hours of pharmaceutical advertisements on TV a year. As mentioned I believe before on this blog the U.S. and New Zealand are the only 2 countries in the world that even allow direct to consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA). I personally do not like this type of advertising and neither do some of my friends. We often make fun of the advertisements when they come on TV as they sometimes can be quite silly. The article mentions in 1969 when the FDA first issued regulations for … Read more

Industry Bias in Biomedical Science

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An interesting article written by Christopher T. Robertson titled “The Money Blind: How to Stop Industry Bias in Biomedical Science, Without Violating the First Amendment,” appears in the American Journal of Law and Medicine (vol. 37, pages 358-387, 2011). The article discuses how the medical industry spends billions of dollars to create innovative products but also spends nearly as much to change the behavior patterns of those interested to make sure the products are purchased. The author states “As a veteran of the industry writes, ‘ in the pharmaeeutieal industry, there are two ways to market an approved drug for a new use: the ‘indication’ route—performing studies necessary for regulatory approval—or the ‘publication’ strategy, whieh stimulates off-label prescribing by using research ‘to disseminate the information as widely as possible through the world’s medical literature.’ “ A mention is made of a candid document by Pfizer which states … Read more