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Home > Books > Self-Help > Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients
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Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients
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By Ben Goldacre
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 (147 Reviews)
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Availability:
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Publisher:
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Faber
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Edition:
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Reprint
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Published:
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February 5, 2013 |
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Binding:
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Hardcover
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We like to imagine that medicine is based on evidence and the results of fair testing and clinical trials. In reality, those tests and trials are often profoundly flawed. We like to imagine that doctors who write prescriptions for everything from antidepressants to cancer drugs to heart medication are familiar with the research literature about a drug, when in reality much of the research is hidden from them by drug companies. We like to imagine that doctors are impartially educated, when in reality much of their education is funded by the pharmaceutical industry. We like to imagine that regulators have some code of ethics and let only effective drugs onto the market, when in reality they approve useless drugs, with data on side effects casually withheld from doctors and patients. All these problems have been shielded from public scrutiny because they're too complex to capture in a sound bite. But Ben Goldacre shows that the true scale of this murderous disaster fully reveals itself only when the details are untangled. He believes we should all be able to understand precisely how data manipulation works and how research misconduct in the medical industry affects us on a global scale. With Goldacre's characteristic flair and a forensic attention to detail, Bad Pharma reveals a shockingly broken system and calls for regulation. This is the pharmaceutical industry as it has never been seen before.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews:
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 Not only do the drug companies mislead doctors, hospitals ..., March 20, 2016
By Ted Ryersbach
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Not only do the drug companies mislead doctors, hospitals and patients, but the FDA is complicit in this manipulation of facts.
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 Rather scary stuff., February 24, 2016
By booksmyth
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It was not exactly a horror novel, but there was plenty of frights. At one point I was taking notes and just started adding jokes so I wouldn't fall into depression. I hope this is not accurate, but I'm afraid it probably is.
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Sickeningly Good, February 22, 2016
By staypuftman
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Bad Pharma hits the pharmaceutical industry hard from the opening paragraph and never quits. What's so impactful about a book like this is that Goldacre is making lots of scientific points, not just lobbing poorly constructed logic at these monied interests. Even 20 pages into the book, you're already disgusted at the practices being laid out.
The book has sections that rail into advertising, study design, government, ethics boards, the FDA, medical schools, journals and everyone in between. Goldacre makes highly specific points about where government regulation has been ineffective and how journals have enabled all these bad study practices for huge kickbacks from Big Pharma itself. He's not making any friends in the industry here - except readers with his honesty - just muckraking in the grand tradition. I too was reminded of Upton Sinclair in reading this work.
The core of this book's argument is that no one is allowed to know which drugs are best. Goldacre keeps harping on the fact very few comparison studies are done; far more common are new drug studies going against placebo pills everyone knows don't work. This helps inflate findings, making new drugs look more effective than older drugs because they were never compared against each other.
There are some downsides to this title, however. The first hundred or so pages in the book are in dire need of an editor - they really come off disorganized and caused my lovely lady (a librarian no less) to put the book down outright. Once Goldacre settles in, his voice comes through and the prose stabilizes. Stay with him: the arguments and evidence are worth wading through some badly worded passages. Overall, the book is worth the ride, definitely recommended.
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Well worth your time, essential if you work in drug development, February 05, 2016
By Ruben Faelens
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I work in drug development myself
The book really struck a nerve. It is well written and is tries to remain as light and accessible as possible. Well worth your time.
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Excellent read., January 04, 2016
By gnsjr
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Fairly written, with pains taken to be accurate but not offensive. I am a nurse and so have seen some of the examples firsthand. I'd recommend this book for anyone, whether in healthcare or not.
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More objective than the title suggests, December 26, 2015
By vlo
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There's more than pharma industry to blame for misinformation in healthcare - well described issues and quite reasonable suggestions for improvement. Recommended to anyone who feels passionate about improving health outcomes.
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See all 147 Reviews.
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