Call for doctors to clearly declare any funding from industry

In Baroness Julia Cumberlege report on the pelvic mesh etc scandal, calls for doctors to have to clearly declare any funding from industry.

If the BPS doctors involvement with the insurance industry, for all these decades, had really been out there, clearly declared for all to see, with all patients, GP's, funding bodies, ethics committees, institutions, media, MPs, peer reviewers, clearly aware of their links with business, how different things might have been.....

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...er-healthcare-professionals-industry-patients

The pelvic mesh scandal makes it clear: doctors must declare any funding
Margaret McCartney

"We need a public register to show if healthcare professionals are in the pay of industry – or more patients will suffer."


"Cumberlege’s report includes several recommendations to prevent similar problems in the future, such as proper surveillance to reliably track side effects, and accurate patient information leaflets detailing the risks of procedures. It also recommends that doctors make statutory declarations of their interests. This is something members of parliament have long been doing. Every MP must make a declaration of potential conflicts, which are publicly accessible on parliament’s website. This allows us to choose where we place our trust. If an MP may financially benefit from supporting a particular policy, we want to know.

So why should this be any different for doctors? If a doctor recommends one treatment over another, we should be confident they don’t have a financial interest at stake."

 

My GP, with the best intentions, really wanted an opinion from a particular doc back when I was first diagnosed. I already had the diagnosis, thought it was probably right and reckoned my consultant was about as good as could be expected - at least I could trust him not to harm me.

Anyway, for the sake of peace & ongoing support, I went along. It was awful, worse than expected. He was even derisive about my specialist. It's fair to say we didn't see eye to eye.

It was only later that I discovered he was on the board of a private rehab clinic where GET & CBT featured heavily. It was literally in his own interests to recommend rehab with GET & CBT. Worse still, as I was still just about employed he thought there might be a possibility of someone else footing the bill.

 

I'm sorry you had to go through that but what a good example, if you'd known the background you wouldn't have gone or at least you would have been forewarned.

 

@Invisible Woman

Sorry, but I got confused. Who was on the board of the private rehab clinic? Your GP or your consultant or the consultant that the GP consulted? And were the two consultants referred to the same person?

 

I had a specialist A who was my ME specialist.

My GP was concerned that some of my symptoms might be indicative of something else. He'd heard specialist B was good & wanted his opinion.

I didn't find out until later specialist B, who was very unpleasant throughout the appointment and made derisive comments about Specialist A, was on the board and had a financial illness in a rehab centre that provided GET & CBT treatment. He was also very keen on finding out about my employer and the possibility of them covering the cost of treatment.

I don't think my GP knew about B's connections to the rehab clinic and I know the GP also thought well of specialist A.

 

Thanks, @Invisible Woman. I understand now.

 

I also don't think this potential for conflict of interest is that unusual.

I know of several people whose employers sent them for assessment, with a view to treatment, to the rehab centre where they would be treated.

Now, I'm not saying that the patient's interest always comes 2nd, but these private places aren't cheap and it costs them to have an empty bed. Especially when there's no independent oversight and the medical establishment insists the treatments can do no harm (based on very poor & misleading research as we know).

If I was looking at engaging specialist services in any other part of my life getting 2 or 3 quotes & opinions would be the norm. Then I would decide.

In medicine it seems this is "doctor shopping" and not a good thing. These people are also free to write to your GP and update your medical records with their opinion & thus it can have long term consequences.

 

hmm you mean like someone having share options in a certain company providing an online service based on your dodgy research(?)
https://www.s4me.info/threads/proto...der-moss-morris-et-al.7965/page-3#post-186430