From Evidence-based Medicine to Marketing-based Medicine: Evidence from Internal Industry Documents

von Glen I. Spielmans & Peter I. Parry
Bioethical Inquiry
DOI 10.1007/s11673-010-9208-8
Received: 2 October 2009 / Accepted: 15 December 2009

Download zum Artikel: http://www.springerlink.com/content/b674622731k4850q/fulltext.pdf

Abstract: While much excitement has been generated surrounding evidence-based medicine, internal documents from the pharmaceutical industry suggest that the
publicly available evidence base may not accurately represent the underlying data regarding its products. The industry and its associated medical communication firms state that publications in the medical literature primarily serve marketing interests. Suppression and spinning of negative data and ghostwriting have emerged as tools to help manage medical journal publications to best suit product sales, while disease mongering and market segmentation of physicians are also used to efficiently maximize profits. We propose that while evidence-based medicine is a noble ideal, marketing-based medicine is the current reality.