Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession, and the Pharmaceutical Industry (Explorations in Bioethics and the Medical Humanities) [Paperback]

Howard Brody (Author)

Book Description

Series: Explorations in Bioethics and the Medical Humanities | Publication Date: November 9, 2007

For decades, medical professionals have been betraying the public's trust by accepting various benefits from the pharmaceutical industry. Drug company representatives and doctors alike have promulgated creative rationalizations to portray this behavior positively, as if it really serves the interest of the public. In Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession, and the Pharmaceutical Industry, Howard Brody claims that we can neither understand the problem, nor propose helpful solutions until we fully recognize the many levels of activity that connect these two industries. Then, for real improvement to occur, the doctors themselves need to not only change their behavior, but also change how they view the actions of their peers and colleagues. We can pass laws and enact regulations, so that those physicians that do choose to focus on ethics won't be in an environment where they feel as if they are swimming against too strong a current to make meaningful change, but ultimately a profession has to take responsibility for its own integrity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[Brody] aims for the measured cadences of the ethicist . . . calmly laying out the relevant facts and then reasoning from basic principles to determine whether the medicine-pharmaceutical relationship, as it stands now, is an ethical one or not. That Dr. Brody manages to deliver a hundred-odd pages of determinedly objective analysis before he, too, lets the righteous indignation roll should not really be called a failure of methodology: even as he carefully lays out the facts in this impressively comprehensive book, those facts begin to speak damningly for themselves . . . for a detailed overview of this very jagged terrain, if not for a map of the pathway out, a better general guide than this one is hard to imagine. (The New York Times )

Physicians, policy makers, and the public should thank Dr. Brody for this major contribution to our understanding of the medical profession and the corrupting influence on the profession of its complex relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. (Philip R. Lee, MD )

The single best, most balanced, most comprehensive guide to the current difficulties with the pharmaceutical industry that I have ever read. (Carl Elliott )

Dr. Howard Brody has written a powerful book that is relevant to all out practices and questions the relationship between medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. (The Journal Of Nuclear Medicine )

In this extraordinary book, Dr. Howard Brody, a medical ethicist, lays out in great detail what he judges to be Big Pharma's misdeeds and the seduction of U.S. docs. His targets are the influence of company drug reps, the suppression of negative research data, the abuse of patents, phony advertising and weak oversight by the FDA. (Chicago Tribune Magazine )

[Brody] aims for the measured cadences of the ethicist . . . calmly laying out the relevant facts and then reasoning from basic principles to determine whether the medicine-pharmaceutical relationship, as it stands now, is an ethical one or not. That Dr.Brody manages to deliver a hundred-odd pages of determinedly objective analysis before he, too, lets the righteous indignation roll should not really be called a failure of methodology: even as he carefully lays out the facts in this impressively comprehensive book, those facts begin to speak damningly for themselves . . . for a detailed overview of this very jagged terrain, if not for a map of the pathway out, a better general guide than this one is hard to imagine... (The New York Times )

Thoroughly documented, logically structured, and well written, [Brody's] book offers a good starting point for discussing ethical issues that impact us all. Recommended for all medical and public libraries. (Library Journal )

I highly acclaim and recommend this book to all physicians, medical students, and those in policy-making positions regarding our broken health-care system...It ought to be required reading for the medical profession as a whole and a call to action to help us regain the public's trust in our integrity, altruism, and professional ethics. (Explore )

It seems that no stone is left unturned in this 367-page book, which can feel at times overwhelming but is without a doubt, thorough. (Health Affairs )

This book is useful for any medical student or resident who, like me, finds the practice of distributing free pens and lunches a nice perk but an ineffective marketing strategy. Hooked is surely worthwhile for the academic physician-investigator who struggles to win grants, or for the rural practitioner. (Anesthesia & Analgesia )

The densely written book captures one's attention and reads like a nonfiction thriller....I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain a thorough understanding of the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession. This knowledge provides a platform for the development of rational solutions, which are sorely needed. (Journal Of The American Medical Association (Jama) )

Hooked is a detailed analysis of the relationship between the medical profession and the pharmaceutical industry primarily in the United States. Hooked is well researched and well written. Brody's style is fluent, helping make his arguments persuasive. (Thomas Harter Journal Of Value Inquiry )

We still have too many doctors and patients who may be aware of some of the deviances of the pharmaceutical industry, however, consider these to be exceptional and of marginal importance. In fact, if someone reads Brody's book, they will learn that fraud, malpractice, and lying is an inbuilt phenomenon in the system of clinical research, drug regulation, scientific publication, medical training and drug advertisements. What Brody adds to our present knowledge is a systematic collection of recommendations for changing the present malfunctioning status quo. It is good to read Brody's book, and it is good to have his reflections in our minds. (Imre Szebik Metapsychology Online Reviews )

An extremely timely book, recommended. (Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews (Per) )

About the Author

Howard Brody is professor and director for the Institute for the Medical Humanities, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Brody was University Distinguished Professor of family practice, and philosophy at Michigan State University, where he also sat on the faculty of the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences; he served as director of the Center from 1985-2000. Dr. Brody completed his residency in family practice at the University of Virginia Medical Center. He received his MD from the College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University, in 1976, and his PhD in Philosophy, also from Michigan State University, in 1977. He currently sits on the board of the American Society for Bioethics and the Humanities, and specializes in ethics and the doctor-patient relationship. He has authored five books, among them Stories of Sickness (2002) and The Placebo Response: How You Can Release the Body's Inner Pharmacy for Better Health (2000).

For up-to-date news about the issues covered in Hooked, visit Dr. Brody's new blog.

Product Details

• Paperback: 382 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 1 edition (November 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742552195
• ISBN-13: 978-0742552197
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #661,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Hooked, December 26, 2011

By 

Murbadurp - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession, and the Pharmaceutical Industry (Explorations in Bioethics and the Medical Humanities) (Paperback)

I read this for an ethics class I recently took, it was relatively interesting. However, it is a little boring. But what do you expect.

5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Useful Information The Is New Even for those 'Read Out' on the Topic, January 16, 2009

By 

J. Douglas Bremner (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession, and the Pharmaceutical Industry (Explorations in Bioethics and the Medical Humanities) (Paperback)

I have been reading a book called Hooked: the Medical Profession and the Pharmaceutical Industry by Howard Brody, MD PhD, of the University of Texas, Galveston, which I highly recommend as an interesting book that adds a lot even for those of you who feel you are "read out" on this topic. The recent episode of comparing new drugs to old drugs given at doses that cause more side effects (in this case antipsychotics) without providing more efficacy (which is stacking the deck in favor of the new drugs) is a pharmaceutical industry tactic that he identifies, although last week's article in the Lancet is the first time we have heard of it as applied to antipsychotics.