Harvard University, Mass General Psychiatrists under fire supported by Mass. General

Boston Globe ^ | June 11, 2008 01:55 PM | Elizabeth Cooney

[ninonitti]

Three Harvard psychiatrists facing a US Senate inquiry got a vote of confidence from their hospital as "beloved and trusted by thousands of grateful children and families." Senator Charles Grassley is looking into the doctors' failure to report payments of more than a million dollars in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007.

A memo from top officials at Massachusetts General Hospital obtained by the Globe praised Drs. Joseph Biederman, Timothy Wilens, and Thomas Spencer as "pioneers in the field of child mental health" while also endorsing "closely managed" collaboration with industry and promising a review of conflict-of-interest policies.

"They are beloved and trusted by thousands of grateful children and families who have counted on them for treatment, counseling, help and hope. We know this is an incredibly painful time for these doctors and their

[ninonitti]

The three psychiatrists received money from companies that made the medications they researched and recommended. Biederman's work is widely linked to a steep rise in bipolar diagnoses among children.

Wow no surprise here. The memo from the suits sounds so phoney I have to wonder who they use to write this stuff - AP pool reporters?

[hinckley buzzard]

Harvard psychiatrists have had a real bad record for the last twenty years or so. For examples, sexual abuse of patients(Bean-Bayog), practice based on crackpot theories about aliens(Mack) and a host of others involved in the false memory fiascos of the 90s. It was only a matter of time until it degenerated into simple greed.

But hey--we're Harvard. We can do what we want.

[ktime]

This is not a new event.

It happens thousands of times a day in the USA.

Doctors routinely receive kickbacks from drug/appliance/surgical equipment/prosthetic companies to use their products.

“Smarter” research MD’s who publish usually have their studies underwritten by the pharmaceutical companies and in turn write dubious glowing reviews of the drug or product.

[Grizzled Bear]

I’m going to take the title of this article out back and shoot it. Everybody cool with that?

[ninonitti]

practice based on crackpot theories about aliens(Mack)

John Mack had nothing to do in fact with the stories of abduction he studied. He simply reported them and was hung out to dry by the Harvard suits for doing it.

These guys are a horse of a different color like the Mass Mental Hospital guys who fed disabled children from the Fernald School radioactive oatmeal without bothering to notify the parents.

[darkangel82]

People like that should be shot in the head Chinese-style with a .40 and left for the buzzards. I may get a timeout for that but it’s the truth.