Pharmageddon [Hardcover]

David Healy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 2012 | ISBN-10: 0520270983 | ISBN-13: 978-0520270985 | Edition: 1

This searing indictment, David Healy's most comprehensive and forceful argument against the pharmaceuticalization of medicine, tackles problems in health care that are leading to a growing number of deaths and disabilities. Healy, who was the first to draw attention to the now well-publicized suicide-inducing side effects of many anti-depressants, attributes our current state of affairs to three key factors: product rather than process patents on drugs, the classification of certain drugs as prescription-only, and industry-controlled drug trials. These developments have tied the survival of pharmaceutical companies to the development of blockbuster drugs, so that they must overhype benefits and deny real hazards. Healy further explains why these trends have basically ended the possibility of universal health care in the United States and elsewhere around the world. He concludes with suggestions for reform of our currently corrupted evidence-based medical system.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Healy's contrarian streak and sharpness make this a disturbing, well-documented indictment that echoes many others in recent years, and one worth heeding."--Publishers Weekly

"Powerful. . . . Healy exposes the secrets that enable drug companies to circumvent protections. . . . And he also offers a solution."--Human Givens

From the Inside Flap

"This meticulously documented book makes extraordinary claims with far-reaching intellectual and practical ramifications. It is the most powerful critique of the contemporary medical-industrial complex that I know."--Andrew T. Scull, author of Hysteria and Madness: A Very Short Introduction

"This book shines a bright light on the pharmaceutical industry (and American healthcare) in the same way that Silent Spring called out the chemical industry and Unsafe at Any Speed called out the automobile industry. Pharmageddon is Healy's most important book to date. It will make a real contribution toward healing our sick system of pharmaceutical-driven medicine and helping doctors provide better care for their patients."--Elizabeth Siegel Watkins, author of The Estrogen Elixir and On the Pill

"In this startling book, David Healy argues that 'evidence-based' medicine--and a healthy dose of corrupt science--has led modern medicine off a cliff. His book is provocative, challenging, and informative, and ultimately it serves as a powerful manifesto for rethinking modern medicine."--Robert Whitaker, author of Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America

"Like a good detective story, Pharmageddon weaves together the history of modern medicine, the evolution of clinical trials and statistical analyses, changes in international patent laws, privatization of clinical research, blurring of the line between academics and industry, and the enabling role of medical journals. If you want to learn how to protect yourself (or your patients) from medical commercialism and how medical practice can be re-directed back toward its true mission, this book is a must read."--John Abramson, author of Overdosed America

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (March 12, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520270983
• ISBN-13: 978-0520270985
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,712 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a medical classic the day it ws published... February 9, 2012

By John M. Nardo

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dr. Healy moves beyond the boundaries of his specialty, psychiatry, to describe how the changes in Medicine and Medical Care we all perceive are, in fact, symptomatic of the increasing dominance of our Healthcare systems by a vast medical-industrial complex that increasingly drives every aspect of Medicine. He shows how previous "reforms" - prescription drugs, the formation of the FDA, Clinical Trials, Patent Laws, etc. have been co-opted by industry over the years - turning previous "reforms" into strangle-holds that have shaped and contorted traditional medicine, creating physicians who are often functioning as salesmen for the Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Industry, physicians who are treating lifestyles rather than people with disease. This is not a book with complaints about just some aspects of medical care nor is it laced with conspiracy theories. It's a historical travelogue through largely familiar territory, but adding keen insights on the back stories and unintended consequences that have been fundamentally undermining our healthcare system in plain view. His predictions are dire, but impossible to ignore. Pharmageddon is a must-read for anyone in the healthcare world and anyone who plans to need healthcare in the future - in short, everyone.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Expose April 7, 2012

By Dr. L. G. F.

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

David Healy has written extensively about the pharmaceutical industry, and this book is one of his best. He gives a short history of how drugs became such big business, and why the incentives are wrong for new drug development. Healy is by no means anti-drug, but he objects to the use of too many drugs and of drugs that have questionable value to the patient. Everyone should be aware of the information in this book before filling their next prescription.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you only knew... May 24, 2012

By Josquin DesPrez

Format:Hardcover

This book is chock full of evidence that the corruption of the medical system in this country is deep and pervasive. The most important bottom line message is that this corruption has a serious effect on the quality of healthcare delivered by even the most conscientious doctors, nurses, and hospitals.

Those who should be looking out for the best interests of patients are mostly failing to do their jobs, even if they are not actively participating in the corruption. For instance, the allegedly prestigious New England Journal of Medicine makes no attempt to check on the veracity of drug company studies and its editor expresses that she has "no regrets" about publishing a fraudulent study of Paxil. (Paxil was found by the study to be no more effective than a placebo and much more likely than a placebo to induce suicidal behavior in young people --- but this data was deliberately left out of the published study by the company who ran the study.)

Next time you see one of those attractive young drug salespeople in your doctor's waiting room tell them to look for some honest work.