*Propaganda kills.* Go to: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3031939/#> Abstract
Ghostwriting for medical journals has become a major, but largely invisible, factor contributing to the problem of credibility in academic medicine. In this paper I argue that the pharmaceutical marketing objectives and use of medical communication firms in the production of ghostwritten articles constitute a new form of sophistry. After identifying three distinct types of medical ghostwriting, I survey the known cases of ghostwriting in the literature and explain the harm done to academic medicine and to patients. Finally, I outline steps to address the problem and restore the integrity of the medical literature. *Keywords: **Academic Medicine*, *Ghostwriting*, *Key Opinion Leader*, *Medical Education and Communication Companies*, *Pharmaceutical Industry*, *Publications Strategy*, *MCM* Of Sophists and Spin-Doctors: Industry-Sponsored Ghostwriting and the Crisis of Academic Medicine Leemon McHenry <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=McHenry%20L%5BAuthor%5D&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=21327175> * Author information <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3031939/#> Article notes <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3031939/#> Copyright and License information <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3031939/#> Disclaimer <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/about/disclaimer/> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3031939/ Abstract Ghostwriting for medical journals has become a major, but largely invisible, factor contributing to the problem of credibility in academic medicine. In this paper I argue that the pharmaceutical marketing objectives and use of medical communication firms in the production of ghostwritten articles constitute a new form of sophistry. After identifying three distinct types of medical ghostwriting, I survey the known cases of ghostwriting in the literature and explain the harm done to academic medicine and to patients. Finally, I outline steps to address the problem and restore the integrity of the medical literature. *Keywords: **Academic Medicine*, *Ghostwriting*, *Key Opinion Leader*, *Medical Education and Communication Companies*, *Pharmaceutical Industry*, *Publications Strategy*, *Sophists* *Click on the link for the rest.* -- If you appreciate News From Underground, please consider making a donation — either a one-time gift or a monthly subscription: http://markcrispinmiller.com/support/ Thank you for your support. Ways to unsubscribe: 1) send a blank email to [email protected] PLEASE NOTE: you must unsubscribe using the SAME email with which you subscribed 2) go to http://groups.google.com/group/newsfromunderground and click on the "Unsubscribe or change membership" link in the yellow bar at the top of the page, then click the "Unsubscribe" button on the next page. For more News From Underground, visit http://markcrispinmiller.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "News From Underground" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/newsfromunderground/CAGxB6W_N%3DkbSHNZtvfbc4Z%2BSbw7agpBCAYQeta1Qq3oe3S6pEw%40mail.gmail.com.
