Overdosed America

Description

B92

As a primary care doctor in Massachusetts, John Abramson, MD, author of Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine, believed in the integrity of medical research—until he examined the clinical trial results in detail. In this book, Dr. Abramson discusses the discrepancies between the exorbitant claims made for the pharmaceutical drugs and the actual study data – and between the data and the medical guidelines by government-sponsored panels, whose members often have financial ties to the companies that make the drugs they’re recommending.

He argues, for example, that the benefits of the cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are nowhere near as great as generally believed, and certainly do not approach the advantages conferred by lifestyle changes that would cost much less. He also highlights the methods drug companies use to obtain desired results. “Rigging medical studies, misrepresenting research results published in even the most influential medical journals, and withholding the findings of whole studies that don’t come out in a sponsor’s favor have all become the accepted norm in commercially sponsored medical research.”

Dr. Abramson also offers suggestions for reducing the drug companies’ influence and improving modern medicine.